The hunt for one of India's most elusive figures ended on Tuesday evening when security forces intercepted Misir Besra near the Dhanbad-Giridih border. Carrying a reward of ₹1 crore, Besra was the last active member of the CPI (Maoist) Politburo and Central Committee. He was travelling in a small commercial vehicle with two associates, Gaurav Hasda and Mehnat, when a joint team of the Intelligence Bureau, Jharkhand Police and the CRPF closed in on the Maniadih area. His capture follows a massive crackdown that also saw 16 other Maoists, including his chief bodyguard, surrender earlier that day.

From student to insurgent leader

Besra's involvement in the Maoist movement spanned four decades. Originally a student at a college in Dhanbad, the Harladih resident was drawn into the insurgency through the local Mahajani movement. He eventually rose to the top of the organisation's decision-making hierarchy, coordinating violent activities across the Red Corridor. By the time of his arrest, he was facing 154 criminal cases, including charges of murder, arson and masterminding major attacks across states such as Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha.

Two decades in the shadows

His ability to evade capture became legendary after a dramatic escape in 2009. Although police arrested him once in 2007 in Khunti, Maoist rebels launched a violent raid on the Lakhisarai court complex in Bihar to free him. For the next two decades, he lived underground in the dense forests of Budha Pahad and Saranda. Despite constant pressure and repeated emotional appeals from his family in Giridih to abandon the path of violence, Besra refused to surrender.

His eventual downfall was aided by intelligence gathered from other cadres who had recently laid down their arms under the state's rehabilitation policy. Investigators now believe his interrogation will expose the remaining operational infrastructure of the banned group across eastern India.