Jharkhand Maoist Commander With ₹30 Lakh Bounty Killed In Varanasi Encounter

A Jharkhand-based Maoist commander carrying a combined bounty of ₹30 lakh was killed in an encounter with Uttar Pradesh Police in Varanasi on Sunday morning, police said.

The slain Maoist was identified as Brijesh Ganjhu, alias Gopal Singh, who was the chief of the banned Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), a splinter group that emerged from the CPI (Maoist).

Ganjhu, a resident of Lutu village under Lawalong police station in Jharkhand’s Chatra district, was killed during an encounter near Tengara Mod in Varanasi.

The Jharkhand government had announced a ₹25 lakh reward for information leading to his arrest, while the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had announced an additional ₹5 lakh bounty. This took the total reward on his capture to ₹30 lakh.

According to a police officer, Ganjhu was travelling on a motorcycle with an associate from Teghra Mod towards Mughalsarai via Ramnagar when police attempted to intercept him in the Lanka Maidan area, which falls under the Ramnagar police station.

Acting on intelligence inputs, police tried to stop and arrest him. However, Ganjhu allegedly opened fire at the police after jumping from the vehicle.

An exchange of fire followed, during which Ganjhu sustained bullet injuries. Police said bullets fired by him also struck the bulletproof jackets of UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Deputy SP Vipin Rai and head constable Nitendra Krishna.

Ganjhu was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Deputy SP Vipin Rai is currently undergoing treatment, police said.