RANCHI: Security forces in Jharkhand have arrested dreaded CPI (Maoist) leader Ravindra Ganjhu, also known as Surendra Ganjhu and Mukesh Ganjhu, ending a years-long manhunt for one of the state’s most wanted Maoist commanders. Carrying a combined reward of Rs 20 lakh – Rs 15 lakh announced by the Jharkhand Police and Rs 5 lakh by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Ganjhu was arrested from his ancestral village of Banjhitola in Hesla Mauja under the Chandwa police station limits in Latehar district.
The operation was carried out by a joint team of the Latehar Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) after intelligence inputs indicated that the absconding Maoist had secretly returned to his native village. Security forces swiftly surrounded the area, conducted a search operation, and apprehended him without allowing any chance of escape.
During the operation, security personnel recovered an AK-56 assault rifle, a pistol, another rifle, 239 rounds of ammunition, and other incriminating materials from his possession.
Ravindra Ganjhu served as a Regional Committee member and self-styled regional commander of the banned CPI (Maoist). Officials said he had remained underground for nearly 16 years, emerging as one of the most influential Maoist leaders operating across Latehar, Gumla, Lohardaga, Chatra, Palamu, Garhwa, Ranchi and adjoining districts.
By 2019-20, his influence had reached its peak, with Maoist squads operating under his command spreading terror across large parts of Jharkhand. Even as successive anti-Maoist operations weakened the Maoist network and forced many senior leaders to surrender or face arrest and elimination, Ganjhu continued operating clandestinely.
According to police officials, he eventually became increasingly isolated as many of his close associates were either killed in encounters, arrested, or surrendered before the authorities.
Latehar Superintendent of Police Kumar Gaurav described Ganjhu as one of the state’s most dangerous Maoist leaders. According to the police, he is accused of killing 18 policemen and faces more than 154 criminal cases registered across police stations in Latehar, Gumla, Lohardaga, Palamu, Ranchi and other districts. Some reports place the number of cases as high as 156.
The charges against him include:
- Murder of security personnel and civilians
- Attacks on police camps
- Ambushes on police patrols
- Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts
- Extortion and levy collection
- Arson
- Looting of police weapons
- Obstructing development projects
- Criminal conspiracy and terror activities
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had also been searching for him in cases related to terror funding and extortion. Investigators had earlier attached and sealed Ganjhu’s residence in Hesla Banjhitola, alleging that the property had been constructed using money generated through extortion and illegal levy collection carried out by the Maoist network.
The NIA’s investigation linked him to financial operations that sustained Maoist activities in Jharkhand. Ravindra Ganjhu’s name figures prominently in several of the bloodiest Maoist attacks in Jharkhand over the past decade.
One of the most significant incidents was the November 22, 2019 attack on a police PCR van near Lukaiya Mor in Chandwa, Latehar, in which one Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) and three Home Guard personnel were killed.
Investigations later revealed that Ganjhu had allegedly planned the attack as an act of revenge after the arrest of his wife. Police said he paid Rs 5,000 each to local operatives who carried out reconnaissance and provided intelligence before the ambush.
His role also emerged in the January 7, 2013 IED blast in the Katiya forest under Barwadih police station limits, where 12 security personnel were killed and 14 others injured after Maoists detonated explosives targeting security forces.
Authorities have also linked him to Operation Double Bull, conducted in the Bulbul forests along the Latehar-Lohardaga border in February 2022. A massive cache of arms and ammunition was recovered during the operation, following which the NIA assumed control of the investigation in June 2022.
His name further surfaced during investigations involving Sudhakaran, a CPI (Maoist) Central Committee member carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore, after weapons and Maoist literature were recovered based on disclosures made by another Maoist operative.
According to police officials, Latehar SP Kumar Gaurav received credible intelligence that Ganjhu had secretly returned to his native village. A special team comprising personnel from the Latehar Police, CRPF, and CoBRA 209 Battalion was immediately constituted. Acting swiftly, security forces surrounded the house and launched a coordinated search operation that resulted in his arrest.
Officials described the operation as one of the most significant breakthroughs against Maoist insurgency in Jharkhand in recent years.
Addressing a press conference after the arrest, SP Kumar Gaurav said Ganjhu’s interrogation has already yielded important information and further action is being initiated based on his disclosures. He asserted that the arrest has dealt a crippling blow to the Maoist organisation in the region and significantly weakened its remaining operational capabilities.
CRPF Deputy Inspector General Pankaj Kumar echoed the assessment, stating that only a handful of Maoists remain active in the area. He warned that the remaining extremists now face only two choices surrender before the authorities or face decisive action during ongoing anti-Maoist operations.
