Ganesh Uike, a key member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) who holds a massive bounty of Rs 1.1 crore was killed along with five other Naxalites in a major security operation in Odisha’s Kandhamal forests, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Thursday.
Uike along with 5 other of his associates was neutralised by state police in Odisha who had been performing a series of anti Naxal operations in the region for the past year.
Details of the operation
CPI(Maoist) central committee member Uike was the chief of the banned outfit in Odisha, a senior officer heading anti-Naxal operations in the state told Press Trust of India.
As per the statement given by the senior police officer, the encounter with security forces took place in a forest in the Chakapad police station area. The identity of the other Naxals, including two women, was yet to be ascertained, the police officer said.
Uike was the mastermind behind the 2013 Jhiram Ghati massacre in Chhattisgarh that resulted in the death of 32 people, in which several senior Congress leaders were killed, and was involved in multiple high-profile Maoist attacks across states.
This recent encounter follows a larger wave of Maoists arrests and surrenders. A day before on December 23, 22 Maoist cadres surrendered to Odisha police in Malkangiri district. They handed over nine firearms, 150 live rounds, 20 kg explosives and 13 IEDs.
Police officials interviewed by PTI over the series of such incidents attribute the rise in surrenders to the increased efforts aimed at putting an end to naxalism.
Amit Shah on Naxal-free Bharat goal
In a message posted on X, Shah termed it a “significant milestone towards Naxal-free Bharat”.
“In a major operation in Kandhmal, Odisha, 6 Naxalites, including Central Committee Member Ganesh Uike, have been neutralised so far. With this major breakthrough, Odisha stands at the threshold of becoming completely free from Naxalism. We are resolved to eliminate Naxalism before the 31st of March 2026,” he added.
