As India is gearing up to become “ Naxal Mukt Bharat( Bharat Free from Naxals) by March 31, 2026, a tremor appears palpable among the vanishing Maoists in Jharkhand, where two Naxals were killed in an intra-Naxal group fight.

The intra- group fight took place at Gendra village under Kunda police station of Chatra district in Jharkhand on Sunday night between leaders of the banned Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC).

Two deceased Naxals of TPC were identified as Devendra Ganjhu and Churaman Ganjhu. Both were residents of Purnadih village located in the jurisdiction area of Lawalong Police station.

Among the four injured Naxals, two - Shyam Bhogta and his brother- in- law Gopal Ganjhu are undergoing treatment at the state government-run RIMS hospital in Ranchi. Two others were ‘ normal.’

Reports say that while the condition of Shyam Bhokta is ‘stable’, Gopal Ganjhu is in a ‘critical’ state.

TPC, literally meaning the Third Preparatory Committee, was formed in 2002 after a number of cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in Jharkhand walked out of their parent outfit, complaining of the domination of the Yadav caste in the decision-making process of CPI-Maoist. The TPC cadres were mostly from the Dalit (downtrodden) Bhokta, Turi, Badai, Oraon, and Ghanju castes.

Since its inception, the outfit has indulged in fratricidal clashes with the CPI-Maoist and other Maoist outfits, including the Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT) in Jharkhand. The TPC had once declared that its "main enemy is not the police machinery, but the CPI-Maoist.

Now, the latest intra- TPC commanders' gun battle was attributed to a land dispute. Though the fight between the leaders reportedly prompted Decendra Ganjhu and Churaman Ganjhu to flee and try to hide themselves in the field where the villagers gathered and beat them to death.

Their death comes two days before 2025 ends on December 31, and the new year dawns on January 1, 2026, three months before the country, as per the announcement made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, is to record a significant milestone towards Naxal-free Bharat.