Five women among 17 Maoists killed in major Jharkhand anti-Naxal operation

A joint operation by CoBRA, Jharkhand Police and Jaguar led to the killing of 17 Maoists in Saranda forest

January 24, 2026

17 Maoists killed in Jharkhand encounter, top CPI (Maoist) leader among dead

Saranda forest: major anti-Naxal success

At least 17 Maoists, including five women and a top Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist), were killed during a large-scale joint anti-Naxal operation in Jharkhand’s Saranda forests, security officials said on Friday.

The operation, codenamed Operation Meghaburu, was launched on Thursday by the CRPF’s 209 CoBRA battalion, Jharkhand Jaguar and Chaibasa district police in the Saranda forest region of West Singhbhum district.

Top Maoist leader Patiram Majhi killed

Among those killed was Patiram Majhi alias Anal da, a high-ranking Central Committee Member (CCM) of the CPI (Maoist) and one of the most wanted Naxal leaders in Jharkhand. He carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore and was wanted in 149 cases across the state.

Security officials said Anal was killed along with 14 other Maoists during an intense gunfight that lasted nearly two days.

Toll rises to 17 as search continues

On Friday, during follow-up search operations, security forces recovered two more bodies, taking the total death toll to 17. Intermittent firing was reported earlier in the day, but the encounter has now ceased.

SDPO (Kiriburu) Ajay Kerketta said the area is still being combed.
“The encounter, which lasted almost two days, has stopped. The search operation will continue in daylight,” he said.

Officials described Operation Meghaburu as one of the most successful anti-Maoist actions in recent years.

Surrenders and setbacks for Maoists elsewhere

The development comes amid intensified action against Left Wing Extremism across central and eastern India. Earlier this month, six Maoists were killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks warning against the spread of urban Naxalism, nine Maoists carrying a combined bounty of Rs 47 lakh surrendered in Chhattisgarh and Odisha, along with a cache of weapons.

Police said the surrendered cadres included key leaders from multiple area committees under the Odisha State Committee of CPI (Maoist). After the surrender, Nawarangpur district in Odisha was declared free of Naxal activity.

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