Major breakthrough: Naxalite supremo with long criminal trail killed in Varanasi
Varanasi, September 20: Amidst the strict policy of Yogi Adityanath government regarding law and order in Uttar Pradesh, the UP ATS took a major action in Varanasi on Sunday and killed Brijesh Ganjhu alias Gopal Singh Bhokta alias Sardar Ji, the supremo of banned Naxalite organization Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), in an encounter, police told.
The Jharkhand police and NIA had announced a total bounty of Rs 30 lakh on Brijesh Ganjhu, who was absconding for almost 20 years. He had over 50 cases registered against him, including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, extortion, arson, criminal conspiracy, and attacks on public servants. This included cases of killing civilians and police officers.
Meanwhile, DGP Rajiv Krishna announced a reward of ₹2 lakh for the ATS team involved in the encounter.
The UP ATS had received tip-off that naxalites from Jharkhand were about to cross into the Uttar Pradesh border.The left-wing banned outfit TSPC supremo Brijesh Gangju, disguised as a terrorist, was evading security agencies in various states and was approaching Varanasi with his associates. Based on the information, the ATS teams were deployed along the border areas of Mirzapur and Sonbhadra, connecting Varanasi, and potential transit routes.
Early Sunday morning, information was received that Brijesh had entered Varanasi and was heading towards Lanka Maidan in the Ramnagar police station area. ATS teams deployed around Lanka Maidan. Meanwhile, two men were seen approaching on a motorcycle from the GT Road. When an attempt was made to stop them, the motorcycle riders opened fire on the ATS team.
During the encounter, Deputy Superintendent of Police Vipin Kumar Rai and Chief Constable Nitin Krishna, who were leading the police team, were also shot, but both were wearing bulletproof jackets, which saved their lives. In retaliatory fire, Brijesh Ganjhu was also shot, and his other companion fled the scene. The injured Brijesh was immediately rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
A reward of ₹25 lakh was issued by the Jharkhand Police and ₹5 lakh by the NIA for Brijesh Ganjhu. He was also wanted in NIA cases RC-6/2018 and RC-22/2018. He had over 50 cases registered against him, including murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, extortion, arson, damage to property, assault on public servants, and possession of illegal weapons and explosives. Brijesh was also booked under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UA(P)A).
Brijesh was initially associated with the CPI (Maoist) and later became the supremo of the TSPC, becoming active in violent Naxalite activities. Following the encounter, two pistols, a carbine, a large quantity of ammunition, and ₹100,000 in cash were recovered from the scene.
The UP ATS had previously arrested TSPC sub-zonal commander Umesh alias Nagina, on whom a reward of ₹500,000 was announced in Jharkhand. Naxalite commander Brijesh Ganjhu was originally from Lootu village in Chatra district. However, he had been living under various aliases and changing his location for quite some time.
The police records also list him under names such as Gopal Singh Bhokta, Dularchand Ganjhu, Ranjan, Fulchand Ganjhu, and Sardar. Brijesh’s father, Panchu Ganjhu, died recently. He had been active in Naxalite activities for a long time. He had 39 cases registered against him in Chatra alone.
Previously, he used to extort money from beedi leaf contractors. He also expanded his network to parts of Bihar. In 2010, he was elected unopposed as the head of the Lawalaung Panchayat.
