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Jharkhand: In a major breakthrough in the fight against Left-Wing Extremism, Jharkhand Police, in a joint operation with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), have arrested Ajay Mahto, one of the state’s most wanted Maoist leaders, carrying a bounty of ₹25 lakh.
Ajay Mahto, also known by the aliases Tiger and Basudev, is a Special Area Committee (SAC) member of the banned CPI (Maoist). He was apprehended from Nawadih village under the Pirtand police station limits in Giridih district after security forces acted on specific intelligence inputs.
During the raid at the residence of Karmu Manjhi in Harladih, two other Maoist operatives hiding with Mahto were also taken into custody.According to police, Mahto has a criminal record spanning nearly 240 cases, including charges of murder, extortion, robbery, attacks on security forces, IED blasts and destruction of government property.
Investigators believe he played a key role in orchestrating several high-profile Maoist attacks across Giridih, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Hazaribagh districts.Officials say Mahto was notorious for planning ambushes on police and CRPF personnel, setting construction vehicles on fire to disrupt infrastructure projects, and running an extensive extortion network targeting contractors and businesses in Maoist-affected areas.
Police also identified Mahto as a close aide of senior Maoist commander Misir Besra, considered one of the most influential faces of Maoist operations in Jharkhand. Security agencies believe his arrest could provide crucial intelligence into the functioning, leadership structure and future plans of the outlawed organisation.
The arrested Maoist leader and his two associates are currently being interrogated, with investigators hoping the operation will help dismantle the remaining Maoist network and strengthen ongoing anti-insurgency efforts in the region.
