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One of India’s most wanted Maoist leaders, Misir Besra, has been arrested in a joint operation conducted by the CRPF’s elite COBRA battalion and the Jharkhand Police. Besra, who carried a reward of Rs 1 crore, was captured along with two of his close associates in the Maniyadi area along the Dhanbad-Giridih border.

Security agencies reportedly acted on specific intelligence inputs that Besra had left his hideout in the Saranda and Kolhan regions and was travelling towards Giridih to evade security forces.

Based on the intelligence received, COBRA commandos and Jharkhand Police personnel sealed the border area and launched a coordinated operation. The security forces successfully surrounded the Maoist leader, leaving him with no opportunity to escape.

The operation resulted in the arrest of Besra and his two associates without allowing them to flee from the area.

The 66-year-old Besra, a native of Giridih district in Jharkhand, is also known by the aliases Sagar and Sunirmal. He was previously arrested in 2007 but escaped two years later after Maoists attacked the Lakhisarai court premises in Bihar and freed him.

For several years, Besra remained one of the most senior active Maoist leaders, allegedly overseeing operations across Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.

According to officials, more than 154 criminal cases have been registered against him in Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal. He is also named as an accused in three cases being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The arrest comes months after Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared that India had become “Maoist-free” following sustained anti-Maoist operations across the country. Despite the government’s claim, Besra had remained one of the few senior Maoist leaders who had evaded arrest until now.

His capture is being seen as a significant breakthrough in the ongoing campaign against Maoist insurgency.