Security forces gunned down a top Maoist commander, Amit Hansda alias Uptan, in an early morning encounter in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand on Sunday.
Uptan, considered one of the most dreaded Maoist leaders in the region, was wanted in over 96 cases and carried a long history of violent crimes.
According to police, Chaibasa SP Rakesh Ranjan received intelligence that Naxalites had assembled in the Panchlataburu forest of Rela Paral in the Goilkera police station area to execute a major strike.
Acting swiftly, the district police and paramilitary forces launched an anti-Naxal operation. A special team led by SP (Operations) Paras Rana and Deepak Kumar, Assistant Commander of the Cobra 209 Battalion, was deployed.
At around 5:45 am, the forces came under heavy fire from the rebels. The security personnel retaliated, triggering a fierce gun battle that lasted nearly half an hour. Under mounting pressure, the Naxals fled deeper into the forested hills.
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A subsequent search of the area led to the recovery of an SLR rifle, cartridges, and other items, along with the body of a slain Maoist. The deceased was identified as Amit Hansda alias Uptan, a resident of Dhodi village in Bokaro district.
Uptan was a zonal commander and had been active in Naxal operations for over a decade. He was accused of orchestrating more than 60 violent incidents, including the killing of 12 security personnel.
His record includes masterminding the 2014 Chaibasa jailbreak, leading the attack in Kukdu (Seraikela) that killed five policemen and resulted in the looting of their weapons, involvement in the ambush on former minister Gurucharan Nayak in Goilkera, where his bodyguards were killed, and several brutal killings of policemen in West Singhbhum district.
Police said his elimination is a major blow to Naxal operations in Jharkhand, particularly in the Kolhan region, which has witnessed frequent rebel activities.
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