Ranchi: Jharkhand police in an encounter on August 5 neutralised a top Maoist operative in Gumla district, officials said.
The operation was launched following the police received inputs about presence of dreaded Maoist Martin Kerketta. A police team was then swiftly dispatched to Changberi area under the jurisdiction of Kamrada police station limits.
Upon reaching the spot the security team was reportedly attacked by Martin who fired shots on the personnel. In retaliatory action taken by the police Martin was neutralized.
A resident of Redama village, Martin was a top operative of the banned extremist outfit People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a splinter group of the outlawed CPI[Maoist]. He was said to be a member of the central committee of the same outfit and carrying a bounty of Rs 15 lakh on his head.
Martin was reportedly given major responsibility in the outfit following arrest of the dreaded Maoist and PLFI supremo Dinesh Gope who was apprehended in May 2023.
Gope a hardcore Maoist was named in several severe criminal acts and wanted by the police and the National Investigation Agency [NIA]. His arrest led to unearthing and seizure of arms, explosives and cash in significant quantity from the state of Jharkhand.
Anti-Maoist campaign intensified in Jharkhand
Jharkhand police have intensified campaign against the active Maoist cadres in the state lately. Earlier in a similar operation launched on July 26, a joint team of police and security forces neutralized three hardcore Maoists in an encounter that broke out in the forest area of Ghaghra police station limits of Gumla.
All the Maoists killed in the encounter were members of Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad [JJMP], a splinter group of the CPI [Maoist]. An AK-47 and two INSAS rifles were also recovered from the spot following the gunfight.
#Jharkhand: गुमला जिले के घाघरा थाना क्षेत्र में आज सवेरे पुलिस से मुठभेड़ में प्रतिबंधित नक्सली संगठन #JJMP के तीन सदस्य मारे गए।
पुलिस ने तीनों नक्सलियों के शव बरामद कर लिए हैं। घटनास्थल से एक एके-47 और दो इंसास राइफलें भी बरामद की गई हैं।
— आकाशवाणी समाचार (@AIRNewsHindi) July 26, 2025
Police on May 24 had also gunned down Pappu Lohra, chief of the JJMP in an encounter. Lohra was named in around 100 cases and carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head. He was also named in a case related to murder of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deputy commandant.
Significantly, security forces have intensified anti-Maoist campaign across states affected by red terrorism following the Union Government vows to eliminate the Maoist or the Naxal terror from Bharat by March 2026.
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