Despite frantic search operation launched by security forces, two top Maoists from the West Singhbhum forest area of Jharkhand remain elusive insurgent leaders.

They were known as Misir Besra and his assistant associate Asim Mondal.Both of them were leading the banned Maoist outfit- CPI( Maoist) in the forest of Saranda, located in triangular border areas of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

Information available indicate that more than a fortnight after 27 Maoists allegedly linked to elusive CPI( Maoist) leader Misir Besra, had surrendered before the Jharkhand Police, a 4,000-strong contingent of security personnel was deployed in the Saranda forest to intensify the hunt for the last remaining central committee member of the banned CPI (Maoist) leader Misir Besra and Asim Mondal.

Along side, on May 30, CRPF Director General GP Singh chaired a key operational meeting at the office of the Chaibasa Superintendent of Police, where a detailed strategy was discussed to eliminate what officials described as the last remnants of Maoist- Naxalism in the region.

It was resolved in the meeting to work in close coordination with the civil administration and Jharkhand state police to eradicate Maoist influence, particularly in the Kolhan and Saranda regions of Jharkhand.

Following the surrender of 27 Maoists on May 21, Besra and several close associates were learnt to have retreated deeper into the Saranda forest.Intelligence inputs suggest that they may have moved towards West Bengal.

If information in local media is to be believed,Besra and Asim Mondal may have already left Saranda in search of safer hideouts.

Against this backdrop, security forces have stepped up combing operations in the forested region to trace Besra, who is now 66-year-old Maoist leader.

Carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore, Besra is the last top-ranking CPI ( Maoist)central committee member still at large. Other politburo members have either surrendered or been killed in encounters across Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh since the Centre intensified its anti-Maoist offensive in December 2024.