Latehar: Police on Wednesday arrested two senior area commanders of the banned Maoist group Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) during coordinated raids in Jharkhand’s Latehar district.
The arrested Maoists — Sunil Oraon alias Mantu and Mukesh Lohara — each carried a reward of ₹2 lakh.
Latehar SP Kumar Gaurav said the arrests are a major blow to the weakening JJMP, which has faced significant losses recently. After JJMP commander Pappu Lohara was killed in an encounter, intelligence reports indicated attempts by remaining cadres to regroup.
Acting on this, a special team led by SDPO (DSP) Arvind Kumar was formed with personnel from Latehar and Manika police stations. Oraon was located near his native village Navagarh under Sadar police station, while Lohara was tracked to Purni Palheya under Manika police station.
Simultaneous raids were carried out between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Wednesday, resulting in both commanders being captured without resistance.
SP Gaurav said Oraon is wanted in over seven Maoist-related cases, while Lohara faces two criminal cases. Both had recently escaped during a police encounter.
He added that continuous operations have severely weakened the JJMP, with only four to five members currently believed to be active. In the last six months, two top leaders — including the group’s chief — have been killed, and several cadres have surrendered.
The operation involved officers from Latehar and Manika police stations, including Shashi Kumar, Ramakant Gupta, SI Vikrant Upadhyay, Rahul Kumar Sinha, Vikas Kumar, Dharamveer Singh, and other district police personnel.
Police said the crackdown will continue until all remaining members of the outfit are neutralised.
With inputs from IANS