A woman Maoist leader linked to fugitive commander Mishir Besra surrendered before Kolkata Police with an SLR rifle and ammunition. Police said she had operated for years in the Saranda forest region.
Kolkata Police said surrendered Maoist leader Pushpa was associated with the PLGA and operated in the Saranda forest region.
A woman Maoist leader with links to one of the country’s most wanted insurgent commanders has surrendered before Kolkata Police, authorities announced on Wednesday.
Identified as Pushpa, also known by the aliases Varsha and Shakuntala, the surrendered Maoist was active for years in the forested Maoist strongholds spanning Jharkhand, Odisha and Bihar. Police recovered an SLR rifle, a magazine and 37 rounds of ammunition from her possession.
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Announcing the development at a press conference, Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nanda said Pushpa was originally from Belpahari in West Bengal’s Jhargram district and had left the area in 2001.
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According to police, she moved to the Saranda forest region of Jharkhand while still a school student and later joined the Maoist movement.
Investigators said she became a member of the Zonal Committee of the Dalma Squad and operated extensively in the Saranda forests along the Bihar-Jharkhand-Odisha corridor. She was also associated with the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the armed wing of the Maoist organisation.
Police said she was part of the squad led by senior Maoist leader Mishir Besra.
Commissioner Nanda said Pushpa returned to West Bengal and chose to surrender after being influenced by various government initiatives.
Speaking after laying down arms, Pushpa said she no longer believed in the movement.
“This movement is no longer right. I am pleased with the government’s work; that is why I have given up all weapons and returned to the mainstream,” she said.
#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal: Zonal Committee member of Dalma zone and former Naxalite, Sakuntala Alias Pushpa says, “Given the current situation, the movement will not be able to move forward…. The government has called for us to surrender…” https://t.co/m2N3MK16d0 pic.twitter.com/uN4jTAKRnC
— ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2026
Police said several cases are registered against her in West Bengal. Authorities are also examining cases linked to her activities in Jharkhand.
The surrender comes shortly after the arrest of another alleged Maoist operative, Shraddha Biswas, who was taken into custody by the Special Task Force of Kolkata Police in South 24 Parganas.
Shraddha, also known as Bela, is a resident of Chakdaha in Nadia district. Police said she had been involved in Maoist activities in the Saranda forest region since 2005 and was a member of a regional committee linked to Mishir Besra’s network.
A reward of ₹15 lakh had been announced for her arrest.
According to Commissioner Nanda, STF personnel arrested her from the North Kashipur area of Bhangar following a tip-off. Police from Jharkhand are expected to question her as part of the investigation.
Authorities said Shraddha faces more than 20 cases in Jharkhand. She also has a case registered in West Bengal’s Garhbeta area. Police said she had obtained bail in 2004-05 but did not return to the state thereafter.
Investigators are now probing her contacts and operational links.
Mishir Besra, also known as Bhaskar and Sunirmal, is a senior Maoist leader and former Politburo member of the organisation.
He was arrested near Ranchi in September 2007, when security agencies recovered a large quantity of detonators from a vehicle linked to him. However, he escaped from Bihar Police custody during a Maoist attack on the Lakhisarai court complex in 2009 while being taken for a hearing.
Police said the 66-year-old Maoist leader remains absconding. Over the years, several other senior Maoist leaders have either surrendered or been killed in operations across Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
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