Ranchi: Jharkhand Police arrested Misir Besra, a politburo member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and one of the country’s most wanted Left Wing Extremist leaders, in Dhanbad district on Tuesday, officials said.
Besra, who carried a reward of Rs 1 crore, was arrested in the Maniadih area under the Barwadda police station limits during a joint operation by Jharkhand Police and central security agencies, police said. Officials said the action was taken on the basis of sustained intelligence inputs.
A native of Giridih district, Besra was the only Maoist politburo member from Jharkhand and had remained underground for years. He was wanted in several cases involving attacks on security personnel, extortion, movement of arms and insurgency-related offences, police said.
Officials have not yet released the names of the other persons arrested in the operation or given details of the exact sequence of events leading to the arrests. Security agencies are questioning the detainees for further leads on the Maoist network.
Long Manhunt
Besra had evaded arrest for nearly two decades and was among the most elusive leaders of the banned outfit. He was arrested in 2007, escaped in 2009 and continued to operate underground despite repeated searches and anti-Maoist operations in Jharkhand and adjoining areas, as reported by India Today.
Security agencies had been tracking his movement for some time, particularly in the forested belt along the Dhanbad-Giridih border. Besra is said to have played a key role in coordinating Maoist activity across eastern India.
Reports have indicated that he faced 154 criminal cases and was wanted in Jharkhand, Odisha and other Maoist-affected states. His arrest is expected to provide fresh inputs on the organisation’s remaining structure, logistics, arms sourcing and funding channels.
Surrenders In State
The arrest came a day after 16 Maoists surrendered before Jharkhand Police under Operation Navjeevan-II. Among them were six cadres carrying a combined bounty of Rs 39 lakh.
Police said the surrendered group included one Regional Committee Member, three Zonal Committee Members, three Sub-Zonal Committee Members, six Area Committee Members and three cadre members. They were active in the Kolhan and Saranda forest region and were associated with the teams of Besra and another senior Maoist leader, Asim Mandal.
The surrendering cadres handed over 11 firearms, including six INSAS rifles, two AK-47 rifles, one HK-33 rifle, one US Carbine and one M-16 rifle, along with 38 magazines and 1,562 live cartridges.
Police data showed that Jharkhand’s anti-Maoist campaign has intensified this year. So far in 2026, 93 Maoists have been arrested, 45 have surrendered and 22 extremists have been killed in encounters.
