Top Maoist leader Ganesh Uike killed, six insurgents neutralised in Kandhamal encounter

The security forces on Thursday neutralised Ganesh Uike, one of the most wanted Maoist leaders and a central committee member, during an encounter in the dense Gumma forest area of Odisha’s Kandhamal district, marking a decisive phase in a major anti-Maoist operation along the Odisha–Chhattisgarh border.

The encounter took place in the Chakapada and Belghar police station limits, where joint teams of the Odisha Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Border Security Force (BSF) were conducting a coordinated operation based on specific intelligence inputs. Officials said the exchange of fire began around 9 am, resulting in the death of Uike, who carried a bounty of over ₹1 crore. He was also the secretary of the Odisha State Committee of the CPI (Maoist) and had earlier functioned as the outfit’s spokesperson in Chhattisgarh.

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Security forces recovered the bodies of three Maoists from the encounter site, including two women, along with two INSAS rifles and a .303 rifle. Police sources said another encounter had taken place in the same forest zone late on Tuesday night, during which two Maoists were killed. Those slain in the overnight operation were identified as residents of Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur and Sukma districts. With the latest developments, the total number of Maoists killed in the ongoing operation has risen to six.

Chhattisgarh Additional Director General of Police (Naxal Operations), Vivekanand Sinha told The Statesman that Uike, aged around 69, was a key figure in the Maoist hierarchy. He said Uike’s presence in Kandhamal underlined the importance of the cadre movement being tracked by security agencies.

An AK-47 magazine was found near his body, indicating the level of armament involved.

Further searches led to the recovery of additional weapons and equipment, including revolvers, a .303 rifle, walkie-talkies and Maoist daily-use materials. Two of the slain Maoists have been identified as area committee member Bari alias Rakesh Raigada, a resident of Sukma, and Amrit, a platoon member from Bijapur. The entire operation is being closely monitored by senior Odisha Police officers, including the DIG (Operations) and the Kandhamal Superintendent of Police. Officials said intensive search operations were continuing in the forested region to rule out the presence of any remaining Maoist cadres.

The operation comes amid the Centre’s intensified push to dismantle Maoist networks across the country. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly asserted that Left Wing Extremism will be eradicated from India by March 2026, underlining a strategy that combines sustained security operations with development and rehabilitation measures in affected regions. Senior journalist Manish Gupta, in a conversation with The Statesman, said- “elimination of senior Maoist leaders such as Uike reflects steady progress towards that objective, particularly in the Odisha–Chhattisgarh border belt, long considered a Maoist stronghold.”