Jharkhand Police have arrested Ajay Mahto, alias Tiger or Basudev, a Special Area Committee (SAC) member of CPI (Maoist), from Nawadih village under Pirtand police station limits in Giridih district.
Mahto, who carried a Rs 25 lakh bounty, was apprehended during a joint raid by Jharkhand Police and CRPF at the house of Karmu Manjhi in Harladih, acting on a tip‑off. Two other Maoists hiding with him were also arrested.
According to police records, Mahto faces 240 cases, including murder, robbery, extortion, attacks on police parties, IED blasts, and damage to government property. He is believed to have masterminded several major incidents across Giridih, Bokaro, Dhanbad, and Hazaribagh, gaining notoriety for ambushes on security forces, torching vehicles engaged in road construction, and extorting contractors.
Police sources said Mahto was a close associate of Misir Besra, a top Maoist leader considered the face of “Red Terror” in Jharkhand. Officials are interrogating Mahto and his associates to gather intelligence on Maoist networks in the region.
