Maoist Leader Ganesh Uike With Rs 1 Crore Bounty, Killed In Odisha Anti-Naxal Encounter

Uike was gunned down during an encounter with a joint security team comprising Odisha Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and the Border Security Force (BSF) in the dense Rampa forest along the Kandhamal-Ganjam district border.

Dreaded Maoist commander Ganesh Uike, a central committee member of the CPI (Maoist) with a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head, was killed in a major anti-Naxal operation in Odisha, police officials confirmed on Thursday.

Uike was gunned down during an encounter with a joint security team comprising Odisha Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and the Border Security Force (BSF) in the dense Rampa forest along the Kandhamal-Ganjam district border.

Security officials said Uike had been active in the Maoist movement for nearly four decades and was one of the country’s most wanted insurgents. A native of Telangana’s Nalgonda district, he was elevated to the CPI (Maoist) central committee a few years ago, reflecting his strategic importance within the organisation.

Uike was the mastermind behind the 2013 Jhiram Ghati massacre in Chhattisgarh, which claimed the lives of several senior Congress leaders, and had been involved in multiple high-profile Maoist attacks across states. Over the past three years, he had been operating in Odisha’s Kandhamal region, coordinating guerrilla activities and strengthening Maoist networks. Within the Maoist ranks, he was also known by the alias P. Hanumanta.

In the same encounter, four other Maoists, including two women cadres, were neutralised. Police recovered the bodies from the site. Odisha Police DIG (Naxal Operations) Akhileshwar Singh said the operation was based on precise intelligence and that senior officers are continuing combing operations in the area to ensure no cadres remain.

The elimination of Ganesh Uike is being viewed as a major blow to the Maoist leadership structure. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reiterated that Left-Wing Extremism will be eradicated from India by March 2026.

Authorities said intensified counter-insurgency operations over recent years have not only led to the neutralisation of top Maoist leaders but also prompted a growing number of surrenders.

(With IANS inputs)