Jharkhand, July 29: Security forces have arrested CPI (Maoist) Politburo member Misir Besra, one of the country’s most wanted Maoist leaders, during a joint operation in Jharkhand. Besra carried a reward of ₹1 crore, making his arrest a major breakthrough in anti Maoist operations.
The operation was conducted jointly by the Jharkhand Police, the Central Reserve Police Force, and the CoBRA Battalion in the border region of Dhanbad and Giridih districts late Tuesday night.
Misir Besra arrest marks major anti Maoist success
Acting on intelligence inputs, security forces laid a trap and apprehended Besra along with three other Maoist leaders. Those arrested include regional committee members Mehnat alias Mochu, Vibhishan Murmu and Gaurav alias Saurabh, who each carried a reward of ₹15 lakh. Two more suspects were also taken into custody.
Officials said investigators are questioning the arrested leaders to gather information about the Maoist organisation’s operations, weapons stockpiles, funding network, strategy and key associates.
The breakthrough came shortly after 16 Maoist cadres surrendered before authorities in Ranchi on Tuesday. Among them was Devan Murmu alias Shanicharwa, identified as Besra’s close bodyguard. Officials said intelligence provided by him played a crucial role in planning the operation.
A native of Pirtand in Jharkhand’s Giridih district, Misir Besra joined the Maoist movement nearly four decades ago. He was also known by the aliases Bhaskar, Sunirmal and Sagar and later became a member of the CPI (Maoist) Politburo, the organisation’s highest decision making body.
According to officials, Besra faces more than 150 criminal cases across Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, including charges related to murder, attacks on security forces, IED blasts and extortion.
He was arrested by Khunti Police in 2007 but escaped from custody in 2009 during a Maoist attack on the Lakhisarai court complex in Bihar. Since then, he had remained on the run until his latest arrest.
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