BHUBANESWAR/BERHAMPUR/HYDERABAD: He vanished at will – sometimes robed as a swamiji, stick in hand, towel over his shoulder – shedding names as easily as trails. On Thursday, bullets caught up with Maoist commander Paka Hanumanthu, better known as Ganesh Uike, with a collective bounty of Rs 1.1 crore, who refused to surrender and died in a security operation in Odisha.The 69-year-old CPI (Maoist) central committee member – the Odisha in-charge of the banned outfit and a veteran of more than four decades underground – was among four Maoists killed before dawn in Kandhamal district, a hilly, forested region in southern Odisha bordering Chhattisgarh. His death raised the number of rebels killed in Kandhamal to six over the past 24 hours.
Security agencies linked Ganesh to several major Maoist operations, most notably the May 2013 Jhiram Ghati ambush in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, where a convoy of Congress functionaries was attacked, killing at least 27 on the spot and wounding 34. That episode kept him high on most-wanted lists across Maoist-affected states.Thursday’s operation followed the Dec 22 surrender of 22 Maoists from Chhattisgarh in Malkangiri district in southern Odisha. Police said credible intelligence from the surrendered cadres helped track Ganesh’s movements. Ganesh killing a turning point: ShahTwo Maoists, including an area committee member, were killed Wednesday. Ganesh fell hours later, becoming the first Maoist commander and central committee member neutralised in Odisha. Kandhamal SP Harish BC said security forces found four bodies — two men and two women — all in uniform, along with two INSAS rifles and a .303 rifle. “Ganesh’s identity has been verified. Identities of the other three cadres are being established,” he said.Home minister Amit Shah called the operation a turning point. “A significant milestone towards Naxal-free Bharat,” his office said in a post. “We are resolved to eliminate Naxalism before the 31st of March 2026.” Shah has set March 2026 as the nationwide deadline to end Maoist insurgency and said Odisha is on the verge of becoming free of left-wing extremism.Police sources said Ganesh showed no signs of surrender. In recent months, he had publicly criticised central committee colleague Chandranna for surrendering to Telangana police & insisted the movement would continue despite setbacks. Ganesh carried bounties of Rs 40 lakh in Chhattisgarh and Rs 25 lakh each in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.Born in Pullemla village of Nalgonda district in Telangana, Ganesh — known by aliases Rupa, Rajesh Tiwari, Chamu, Chamru and Somudu — studied in Nalgonda, left his BSc unfinished, and went underground in 1982 amid violent campus politics. He later emerged as an organiser and commander in West Bastar, a dense forest belt in southern Chhattisgarh, serving as secretary and in-charge of the divisional committee and overseeing the south sub-zonal bureau.
