Misir Besra, a senior CPI (Maoist) politburo member carrying a Rs 2.2‑crore bounty, was arrested in Dhanbad district.
The 65‑year‑old rebel, wanted in 175 cases across Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal, was captured along with two close associates during Operation Daura Pahad, a joint effort by Cobra‑9, the Intelligence Bureau, and Jharkhand Police.
The arrest, hailed as “historic” by DGP Tadasha Mishra, was achieved without a single shot fired. Mishra declared that with Besra’s capture, the Maoist menace has been “almost wiped out” from Jharkhand, leaving only one senior leader, Asim Mandal, still at large.
Besra, also known as Bhaskar Da and Sagar Da, joined the Maoist outfit in the 1980s and rose to become a central committee member in 2003. He played a pivotal role in expanding the Maoist network and was linked to major attacks, including the 2005 Jehanabad jailbreak, multiple bank robberies, and IED blasts that claimed the lives of over 100 security personnel.
Alongside Besra, Maoists Mehnat alias Mochu (Rs 15‑lakh bounty) and Gaurav were also arrested, with two more accomplices apprehended soon after. Officials said the group had recently shifted operations to the Parasnath region, attempting to revive Maoist activity.
The arrest came just hours after 16 Maoists surrendered before Jharkhand Police, underscoring the steady decline of the insurgency. Earlier this year, 16 Maoists, including central committee member Patiram Manjo Anal, were killed in a gunfight in West Singhbhum.
Security officials described Besra’s capture as a decisive blow to Maoist influence in eastern India, marking a turning point in the decades‑long battle against extremism.
