Among the murdered were Prayag Manjhi Alias ​​Vivek, a member of the Central Committee of the Maoist Eastern Region Bureau and the main strategist, who received a reward of Rs 1 crore. Two other senior agents – Alvind Yadav (Rs 2.5 lakh) and Sahebram Manjhi alias Rahul Manjhi (Rs 1 lakh) – were also neutralized.
The encounter began at Lugu Hills in the Lalpania region at around 5:30 am in the joint operation of the CRPF’s elite Cobra unit and Jharkhand police. The operation led to the recovery of major weapons caches, including the AK series rifles, SLR, three Insas rifles, pistols and eight state-made Bharmar rifles, according to officials.
“No injuries or casualties were reported among security personnel,” the CRPF said. A search operation is still being conducted to ensure that the area has been completely cleared of any remaining rebels or hidden weapons.
Jharkhand DGP Anurag Gupta confirmed the identity of the deceased, which also included Mahesh Manjhi alias Mota, Talu, Raju Manjhi and Gangaram.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah praised the Force X on the social media platform for saying: “Our march to eliminate Namasism continues to remain the same. In a meeting in Lugu Hills, eight Maoists were neutralized, including top leaders Vivek, Vivek… applauded. In a similar action, a total of 178 Naxals died in Chhattisgarh, with 104 of them dead in Chhattisgarh.
