“Our march to eliminate Naxalism continues unabated,” says Amit Shah after 8 Naxals killed in Jharkhand

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday lauded security forces for neutralising eight Naxals in Jharkhand’s Bokaro and said that the march to eliminate Naxalism continues unabated.

“Our march to eliminate Naxalism continues unabated. Today, security forces achieved another significant success in the ongoing operation to uproot Naxalism. In an encounter at Lugu Hills in Bokaro, Jharkhand, 8 Maoists were neutralised, including a top-level naxal leader, Vivek, who carried a reward of Rs 1 crore, and two other notorious Naxalites. The operation is being continued. Applaud our security forces,” the Home Minister’s Office posted on X.

Jharkhand DGP Anurag Gupta said that in a joint operation by Jharkhand Jaguar, police and CRPF, eight Naxals were killed

“Today, our security forces have neutralised 8 Maoists. We have recovered arms, including four INSAS and one SLR. Three top Naxalites, Vivek alias Prayag Majhi, Arvind Yadav and Sahebram Majhi have been killed. The operation was carried out by the JJ (Jharkhand Jaguar), police and CRPF. The first exchange of fire took place at 5.30 am. The encounter went on for 1.5-2 hours,” the Jharkhand DGP said.

He further said that those who are active Naxalites should surrender and come to the mainstream as soon as possible.

“Today, we have every detail and location of every Naxalite in our state. This is a warning to those who are still roaming around with weapons. They must surrender because we are aware of each and every detail and their whereabouts. They should surrender if they want peace and have the benefits of Jharkhand’s surrender policy,” he added.

Earlier today, the security forces neutralised eight Naxals in a joint operation conducted early morning in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district.

The bodies of the naxals were recovered following an exchange of fire between the rebel group as well as the 209 Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit of the Central Reserve Police Force and the state police force.

The exchange of fire began around 5.30 am in the Lugu hills under the Lalpania area of Bokaro.

“Among the eight Naxals neutralised in the operation were three high-profile individuals with bounties of Rs 1 crore, Rs 25 lakh, and Rs 10 lakh, respectively. Prayag Manjhi had a bounty of Rs 1 crore, Arvind Yadav carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh, and Sahebram Manjhi, also known as Rahul Manjhi, had a bounty of Rs 10 lakh. The remaining naxals have been identified as Mahesh Manjhi alias Mota, Talu, Raju Manjhi, Gangaram, and Mahesh,” the CRPF stated.

As per the CRPF, the troops recovered a cache of arms from the site, including one AK-series rifle, one Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), three INSAS rifles, one pistol, and eight country-made Bharmar rifles.

Officials said that the operation is part of an intensified campaign by security forces to dismantle Naxalism activities in the region.