Asim Mandal alias Akash. Photo: Special Arrangement
A team of the Special Task Force of the West Bengal Police on Thursday (September 17, 2026) arrested top Maoist central committee member Asim Mandal alias Akash.
Akash, who joined the Maoist insurgency in 1980s, had been serving as the Central Committee Member and also the Secretary of Communist Party of India (Maoist) West Bengal State Committee-I.
A total of ₹2.20 crore bounty was declared on his name, including ₹1 crore by the Jharkhand government and ₹1.20 crore by the Odisha government.
Highlighting that West Bengal maintained zero tolerance policy towards any extremist ideology, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the accused was arrested from Purba Medinipore’s Patashpur.
“Evading law enforcement for more than 15 years across inter-State forest belts, his apprehension on the basis of sharp technical intelligence demonstrates the exceptional operational competence of our police force. I want to make it categorically clear that the West Bengal government will not tolerate any attempt to revive or expand the network of ‘Red Terror’ within our State borders,” he said on X.
According to the officials, Akash took charge of the Bengal unit of CPI (Maoist) in 2011 after the death of senior commander Kishenji alias Mallojula Koteswara Rao.
Hailing from Paschim Medinipore, Akash had long been active in Jharkhand in the last few years as the insurgency movement declined in West Bengal gradually after Kishenji’s death.
“We have been tracking his movement for a long time. Few days ago, he entered West Bengal’s Patashpur for shelter. Based on our internal inputs, we have arrested him on Thursday,” said Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda. Police are interrogating the Maoist leader to uncover operational details regarding active cadre networks.
The Commissioner said the government might consider providing necessary support for his return to the ‘mainstream’. He said, “The willingness of return is the foremost condition here. Let his legal procedure be over. If he wants to return to mainstream, we will support him,” said Mr. Nanda.
Coordinated operations
Maoist insurgency emerged strongly during mid-2000s at the Jungalmahal area on the West Bengal-Jharkhand border, including Purulia, Paschim Medinipore and Jhargram. However, it declined after 2011 following Kishenji’s death. The new Trinamool Congress government launched massive coordinated operations with the Central government using paramilitary forces and the State police to dismantle the rebel bases. The government also launched a surrender-cum-rehabilitation scheme for the Maoist leaders aiming to bring them back to the mainstream society.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had put a deadline of March 31, 2026 to end the Left extremism across the country.
Akash’s arrest also came months after the Jharkhand Police arrested another Maoist Central Committee Member Misir Besra from Dhanbad on June 28. Another central committee member Patiram Majhi alias Anal Da was gunned down by the security forces on January 22, who carried ₹1-crore bounty on his head in Jharkhand.
Published – September 17, 2026 10:06 pm IST
