Bhubaneswar – Ganesh Uike, 69, a battle-hardened Maoist leader and central committee member of the outfit, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Odisha’s Kandhamal district on Thursday, delivering a significant setback to Maoist operations in the state. The Odisha police, along with Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel, District Volunteer Force (DVF), and central forces including CRPF and BSF, neutralised Uike in a dense forest area under Chakapad police station limits, near the Rambha forest range bordering Ganjam district.

Uike, who carried a bounty of ₹1.1 crore, was reportedly caught off guard despite being accompanied by three associates. Officials noted that the harsh winter conditions in Kandhamal, with temperatures dipping below three degrees Celsius, may have contributed to the success of the operation.

Having taken charge of Odisha operations in December 2024, less than a year ago, Uike was a veteran cadre of the Maoist movement with extensive experience across several states. He had previously headed the Karnataka-Kerala-Tamil Nadu south regional bureau and worked across Chhattisgarh until November 2024. Promoted to the central committee in 2020, Uike operated under multiple aliases including Pakka Hanumantu, Rajesh Tiwari, Chamru, and Rupa. He hailed from Pullemala village in Chendur mandal, Nalgonda district, Telangana.

In February this year, Uike reorganised the Niyamgiri local organisation squad to revive Maoist activity in areas previously dominated by the top naxal leader Sabyasachi Panda, who is currently serving a life sentence in Berhampur jail. His operations primarily spanned the Kalahandi-Rayagada-Kandhamal-Boudh-Nayagarh axis, leveraging the region’s difficult forested terrains to conduct armed squad movements, cadre recruitment, and forest-based guerrilla strategies.

However, the same challenging terrains that facilitated his previous operations proved disadvantageous during the encounter. According to senior officials, Uike’s expertise in forest warfare could not prevent his neutralisation in the Kandhamal-Ganjam border region.

DGP Y B Khurania confirmed that “Uike’s death has broken the backbone of Maoist activities in Odisha,” underlining the significance of his elimination. A senior officer added that the outfit in Odisha now lacks senior leadership, following the earlier neutralisation of Modem Balakrishna, who had temporarily overseen state operations and was killed in Chhattisgarh’s Gariyaband district on September 11.

Uike had been actively involved in orchestrating armed operations, recruiting cadres, and maintaining forest-based insurgent networks along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra corridor for nearly a decade. His death marks a major disruption to the operational capability of the Maoists in the state, weakening the insurgent network and curbing potential resurgence in the strategically sensitive regions of Odisha.

Officials highlighted that while Uike’s tenure in Odisha had seen attempts to revive and strengthen local Maoist units, the coordinated efforts of state and central security agencies successfully neutralised a threat that had loomed over the forested districts for months. The operation demonstrates continued vigilance and strategic coordination among Odisha’s SOG, DVF, and central forces to contain left-wing extremism and safeguard local communities.

With Uike gone, the security establishment expects a temporary vacuum in the leadership of Maoist operations, potentially reducing the frequency and intensity of attacks in the state. However, officials caution that residual cadres and lower-level insurgents remain active, necessitating ongoing intelligence-driven operations and sustained counter-Maoist strategies.

The death of Ganesh Uike, therefore, represents not just a tactical victory for Odisha’s law enforcement but also a strategic opportunity to dismantle remaining networks and prevent resurgence in areas that were previously strongholds of Maoist activity.