In a major blow to Maoist insurgents, top commander Tulsi Bhuiyan was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand’s Palamu district on Tuesday. This marks the second successful operation against Maoists in as many days. Officials reported that the encounter began late Monday night in the Hussainabad subdivision and continued into Tuesday morning. An SLR rifle was recovered from the site, and there are unconfirmed reports of additional casualties among the Maoists.

A large-scale search operation has been launched in the area, with security forces combing the region for any remaining insurgents. Senior officials, including Palamu SP Rishma Rameshan and high-ranking CRPF personnel, are supervising the operation on the ground.

The offensive was triggered by intelligence inputs about the movement of Maoist commander Nitesh—who has a bounty of ₹15 lakh—and his squad in the Sitachuan forest, located between the Mohammadganj and Haidernagar police jurisdictions. Another wanted Maoist, Sanjay Godram, with a reward of ₹10 lakh, is also believed to be among the group.

The Maoists opened fire as the security teams approached, leading to a fierce exchange of gunfire.

This encounter follows a similar crackdown in Latehar’s Netarhat area on Monday, where Maoist commander Manish Yadav, carrying a reward of ₹5 lakh, was shot dead. During that operation, another high-profile Maoist, Kundan Kharwar—wanted with a ₹10 lakh bounty—was captured.

On May 24, two Maoists, Pappu Lohara (₹10 lakh reward) and Prabhat Lohara (₹5 lakh reward), were killed in an encounter in Latehar’s Ichwar forest. An injured Maoist was also arrested.

In one of the biggest strikes this year, security forces killed eight Maoists on April 21 in Jharkhand’s Lugu Hills in Bokaro district. Among them was top commander Prayag Manjhi, who carried a ₹1 crore reward.