Jharkhand’s police chief on Thursday ruled out any possibility of peace talks with Maoists, saying the only options before the rebels were to surrender, get arrested, or get killed in an encounter.
This comes days after the Maoists’ Central Committee purportedly issued a letter expressing willingness to “temporarily halt the armed struggle” and engage in dialogue. On Tuesday, authorities in neighbouring Chhattisgarh said they were verifying the authenticity of the letter.
DGP Anurag Gupta told The Indian Express that Jharkhand has no plan to engage in dialogue with the Maoists.
“There are only three options for them — surrender, get arrested, or get killed in an encounter. Whenever they feel weakened, they talk about peace negotiations. These are just tactics. If they truly want peace, they must surrender,” Gupta said.
On the operational front, the DGP said police have had important successes against the Maoists in recent months. “In the last eight to nine months alone, 29 Maoists have been killed. The Hazaribag-Bokaro border area, including Jhumra, and even Giridih’s Parasnath region, are now completely Naxal-free. There is no Maoist activity there anymore,” he said.
According to Gupta, only two or three “hardcore cadres” remain active in the Chaibasa region in West Singhbhum district, while a number of associates and sympathisers continue to operate. “At this current pace of operations, I expect that in another month or so, the remaining cadres will either be caught or eliminated completely,” the DGP said.
Inspector General of Police (Operations) Michael Raj said whatever remaining Maoist activity in Jharkhand was limited to the Saranda forest of West Singhbhum district.
The remaining rebels
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The IG said police data indicated that between 85 and 90 cadres of the CPI (Maoist) remain active in Jharkhand. Of these, 69 are concentrated in the Saranda forest, making it the state’s most significant zone of Maoist presence. The remaining cadres are scattered in smaller pockets like four in Palamu, four in Latehar, three in Chhatra, three in Hazaribagh and two in the Latehar axis.
In addition to the CPI (Maoist), splinter groups continue to operate with limited capacity, including the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) with around 7–8 members, and the Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), also with 7–8 cadres. The People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), which was once dominant in parts of Jharkhand, has been described as “largely neutralised”.
The IG said that three of Jharkhand’s most wanted Maoist leaders, each carrying a bounty of over Rs 1 crore, are currently operating in the Saranda forest, making it the focal point of security operations.
Jharkhand’s three most wanted Maoists are Misir Besra, a Politburo member and secretary of the Eastern Regional Bureau, who once escaped from police custody; Anal Da, alias Pati Ram Majhi, a Central Committee member active in Saranda; and Aseem Mandal, alias Akash Mandal, originally from West Bengal.
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According to police data, of the 29 Maoists killed since January, 21 were from the CPI (Maoist), five belonged to the JJMP, two were from the TSPC, and one was associated with the PLFI.
IG Michael Raj noted that Jharkhand has brought most of its districts out of Maoist influence, while nine have some very little activity. “West Singhbhum, because of the Saranda forest, remains the most affected. Latehar is categorised as affected, while the other seven — Giridih, Seraikela, Garhwa, Chatra, Lohardaga, Khunti and Bokaro — fall in the least-affected category,” he said.
