Palamu: The border districts of Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have been a haven for the outlawed Naxalite outfit CPI (Maoist). Earlier the command of the areas used to be in the hands of the members of the Polit Bureau and the Central Committee. But now, the situation has changed as zonal commanders have strengthened their control in these areas which have been the unified command and training centre of the Jharkhand, Bihar and North Chhattisgarh Committees of the Maoists.
These areas had 3,000-3,500 Maoist fighters and commanders till 2015 which has dwindled to just eight. Earlier, about 53 commanders carried a reward of up to Rs 1 crore on their heads which shrinked to about a dozen.
Nitesh and Sunil Handling the Command of Bihar
Nitesh Yadav, with a reward of Rs 15 lakh, and Sunil Vivek, with a reward of Rs 10 lakh, handle the command of the areas adjoining Bihar. Nitesh, active in the border areas of Palamu Chatra in Jharkhand and Aurangabad and Gaya, is accompanied by Sanjay Godram and Thegan Miyan, both carrying rewards of Rs 10 lakh each on their heads. Sunil is single-handedly handling the squad and is active in Gaya and Palamu Chatra in Bihar.
"Earlier, the command in the border areas was in the hands of the Polit Bureau or Central Committee members. But now there is no commander left. The last biggest commander in the area was Dev Kumar Singh alias Arvind. After his death, the Maoists disintegrated," Surendra Yadav, a former Maoist, said.
Mrityunjay Bhuiyan, carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh, handles the command of the border areas of Chhattisgarh accompanied by Manish Yadav. Manohar Ganjhu, with a reward of Rs 10 lakhs, and Ravindra Ganjhu, with a reward of Rs 15 lakhs, are commanding the Palamu Garhwa Latehar Chatra Lohardaga border.
A few days ago, Naxalite Chhotu Kharwar, with a reward of Rs 15 lakhs, was killed in an encounter. He was the top Naxalite commander of the Latehar, Gumla, Lohardaga and Simdega areas.
Change in Policy on Budha Pahad and Bihar border
The border area adjoining Bihar used to be under a unified command of Naxalites. But, their activities have weakened considerably as only four Naxalites are left. After a change in the policy, the police and security forces are targeting them on technical grounds and the local CRPF base was shut down following the dwindling presence of Maoists.
"The police are continuously conducting anti-Naxalite operations and appealing to the remaining commanders to lay down arms and take advantage of the government's surrender policy," Palamu DIG YS Ramesh said.
Security forces are still on high alert about the Red activities in Budha Pahad and continuous search operations are undertaken here to recover the weapons left by Maoist commanders.
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