Berhampur: Body of top Maoist leader Ganesh Uike, who was killed in an encounter in Kandhamal forest two days ago, was handed over to his relatives on Saturday.Uike, a central committee (CC) member of CPI (Maoist) and head of the Maoist outfit in Odisha, was among six members of the banned organisation killed in encounters with security forces on Wednesday and Thursday. “We handed over Uike’s body to his younger brother and nephew in Phulbani,” said SP (Kandhamal) Harish B C.He said there was no claimant to take over the bodies of other five Maoists, including two women. Police will keep the bodies for the next two days waiting for their claimants, before cremating.Amid tight security, the postmortem of the bodies was conducted at the district headquarters hospital, Phulbani, on Friday.Uike of Pullemala village, Chendur mandal in Telangana’s Nalgonda district, was also known as Rupa, Rajesh Tiwari, Chamru and Pakka Hanumantu. He orchestrated several brutal attacks, including the 2013 Jhiram Valley attack, targeted killings, and large-scale ambushes, posing a persistent threat to peace and stability in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, said police.Senior police officers described the successful anti-Maoist operation as a major blow to Maoist activity in the region. They said elimination of Ganesh and seizure of arms, ammunition and other items marked a significant step in weakening the insurgent network.His exit may have brought the security establishment close to achieving the March 31, 2026 goal set by home minister Amit Shah for eliminating Left-wing extremism from the country.
