Kumar Bahukhandi
Slain Maoist leader Ganesh Uike — By Arrangement
One of the deceased Maoists has been identified as Ganesh Uike, a Central Committee member and the chief of the Naxalite organisation in Odisha. He was one of the most wanted Maoist leaders in the state, carrying a bounty of ₹1.1 crore on his head.
Bhubaneswar: Maoist central committee member Uike Ganesh, alias Pakka Hanumanthu, — one of the most wanted extremists in the country — was killed along with three others during an encounter with security forces in Odisha’s Kandhamal district on Thursday December 25, 2025 .
Two women cadres were among the slain rebels. Ganesh, believed to be around 69 years old and a native of Pulklemla of Chandur mandal in Nalgonda district, carried a cumulative reward of `1.1 crore on his head.
He was associated with strategic planning and coordination of armed operations across multiple states, including Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Jharkhand, as well with Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Security agencies described his elimination as a significant blow to the Maoist top command structure.
According to official sources, the gunfight erupted during an intelligence-driven operation in the dense Belghar-Gumma forest zone of Kandhamal. Joint teams of the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched combing operations following specific inputs regarding the movement of senior Maoist leaders. A heavy exchange of fire ensued, resulting in the deaths of four cadres. Civil liberty activists called it a fake encounter.
Gamesh joined the Radical Students’ Unions — a Left-leaning student organisation — during his graduation in 1980. He went underground after his name was figured as accused in the murder of ABVP leader Achuri Srinivas in 1982.
Union home minister Amit Shah in a message termed the Maoist leader’s death as a “significant milestone towards Naxal-free Bharat”. ” Odisha stands at the threshold of becoming completely free from Naxalism. We are resolved to eliminate Naxalism before the 31st of March 2026,” Shah said.
Odisha Director-General of police Yogesh Bahadur Khurania said a joint operation involving 23 teams, 20 of the Special Operations Group of Odisha Police, two of CRPF and one of BSFwas launched in Chakapad police station area in Kandhamal district and bordering Rambha forest range in Ganjam district on Thursday morning.
“Multiple gunfights were reported on Thursday in different areas. Later, four bodies of Maoists — two men and women each — were recovered. Two INSAS rifles and a .303 rifle were also seized,” he said, urging other Maoists to shun violence and accept the state’s rehabilitation policy.
Replying to a question, the DGP said that there was no report of any casualty on the police side so far. “This is for the first time in recent times that a Maoist commander of central committee member rank has been gunned down by security forces in Odisha,” he said.
The Odisha security forces continued combing operations in the area for the second consecutive day to trace fleeing cadres and recover arms.
With the death of Uike Ganesh, the number of Telugu-speaking persons in the Maoist central committee has gone down to four — general secretary Tippari Tirupati alias Devji, Mallaraji Reddy, Muppala Laxmana Rao alias Ganapathi and Bade Chokkarao alias Damodar (Telangana committee secretary).
There were 15 Telugu-speaking CC members in the proscribed organisation. The numbers plunged after the Centre stepped up its action against the Maoists through Operation Kagar to eliminate them by March 31, 2026.
Recently, senior Maoist leaders and central committee members Mallojula Venugopal alias Sonu and Pulluri Prasada Rao alias Chandranna, also a politburo member, had surrendered before the police.
