Maharashtra: Gadchiroli Police arrest Maoist involved in multiple crimes

Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) [India], September 14 (ANI): In a major success against left-wing extremism, Gadchiroli Police have arrested a Maoist who was conducting reconnaissance in Tadgaon forest with the intent of carrying out subversive activities.
According to the police, the arrested cadre, identified as Shankar Bhima Mahaka (32), resident of Parayanar, Bhamragad, Gadchiroli, is a member of the Bhamragad Dalam. He has been actively involved in several violent incidents, including murder, arson, and IED blasts.
The Maharashtra government had announced a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh for his arrest, and he was also wanted in a murder case under investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
On September 13, 2025, two special anti-Maoist squads carried out operations in Tirkameta forest under Tadgaon Police Post (Bhamragad subdivision). During the search, the teams spotted a suspicious person roaming in the area. On interrogation at the Pranhita police sub-headquarters, he was identified as Shankar Bhima Mahaka.
Further investigation revealed that he was conducting a recce of the area to plan an attack. He has been booked under Crime No. 01/2022 at Laheri Police Station related to the arson of 19 vehicles worth Rs 2 crore engaged in road construction work between Dhorraj and Irpanar on January 21, 2022.
He has a total of four serious cases registered against him. In 2022, he was involved in an arson incident, where vehicles were torched on the Dhorraj-Irpanar road. In 2023, he was directly involved in the murder of an innocent villager in Pengunda. Additionally, he is linked with two other cases involving various subversive and violent activities.
As per the police, he was a member of the Maoist organisation, Jan Militia, serving from 2016. In 2021-22, he was recruited into the Bhamragad Dalam. Since then, he has been operating in the Parayanar region and surrounding forests, where he has been actively involved in gathering intelligence on police movements and assisting dalam members in executing violent activities.
This successful operation was carried out under the leadership of IG (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sandeep Patil, DIG (Gadchiroli Range) Ankit Goyal, SP Gadchiroli Neelotpal, Additional SP (Operations) M Ramesh, and Additional. SP Aheri (Pranhita) Satya Sai Kartik, Deputy SP (Operations) Vishal Nagargoje, and SDPO Bhamragad Ajay Kokate, along with special anti-Maoist squads.
SP Neelotpal stated that anti-Maoist operations will be intensified in the region and once again appealed to Maoists to shun violence, surrender, and join the mainstream to live a dignified life. (ANI)