Maoist old guard Misir Besra’s arrest dismantles Naxal leadership

Subhashis Mittra

The recent arrest of top Maoist leader Misir Besra has got all the potential to bring the Naxal movement to an end. Sixty-five-year-old Besra, who carried bounties worth over Rs 2 crore, was a senior member of Communist Party of India (Maoist) Central Committee and Politburo. “With Besra’s arrest, the Maoist menace has almost been wiped out from Jharkhand,” claims DGP Tadasha Mishra. It marks the culmination of one of India’s longest counter-insurgency campaigns as for nearly four decades. Besra remained one of the organisation’s most influential leaders in the Jharkhand-Bihar region, constantly dodging security personnel. A resident of Madnadih in Giridih district, he was apprehended from Maniadih area under Barwadda Police Station in Dhanbad district.

Within weeks of Besra’s arrest, his contemporary and comrade-in-arms Asim Mondal, alias Akash and Timir, were caught by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Kolkata Police from the outskirts of the city. Sixty-four-year Mondal was the last Central Committee member of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) and had served as the secretary of the banned outfit’s Bengal unit. He faces multiple charges in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha and was evading arrest for over 15 years. Mondal, too, carried a bounty of Rs 2.2 crore on his head. With these two major arrests, no active member of CPI (Maoist) central committee is virtually left in eastern India.

A top official of the ministry of home affairs (MHA) explained that the Centre’s integrated strategies have led to the defeat of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). The country has achieved the historic milestone of becoming effectively free from LWE with no district remaining Naxal-hit. “This transformation has been driven by an integrated strategy combining security operations, infrastructure expansion, rehabilitation of surrendered cadres, tribal welfare, and improved governance. The coordinated approach sharply reduced violence, restored state presence in remote regions, and accelerated inclusive development, creating a lasting foundation for peace and prosperity,” the official said.