INSAS rifle, ammo seized in Palamu forest after Maoist commander Sanjay Yadav's arrest
Synopsis
A Maoist commander wanted in 53 criminal cases across Jharkhand and Bihar — including murders and attacks on security forces — led police to a hidden INSAS rifle and ammunition cache in a Palamu forest after his arrest by the Maharashtra ATS in Thane. The case lays bare the cross-state reach and arms networks of CPI (Maoist) operations in central India.
Key Takeaways
An INSAS rifle and ammunition were recovered from a forest in Palamu district, Jharkhand on 10 November 2026 .
Sanjay Yadav alias Godram , a Zonal Committee Member of the banned CPI (Maoist) , was arrested by the Maharashtra ATS in Thane and handed over to Palamu police.
Yadav carries a combined bounty of ₹13 lakh — ₹10 lakh in Jharkhand and ₹30 lakh in Bihar.
He is wanted in 53 cases across Jharkhand and Bihar, including charges of murder, extortion, arson, and unlawful arms possession.
Alleged incidents linked to him include the 2019 Pipra Bazaar firing that killed two people and a 2023 road construction hostage incident in Palamu.
An INSAS rifle and a large cache of ammunition have been recovered from a forest in Palamu district, Jharkhand, following a tip-off provided by a Maoist commander who was arrested in Maharashtra two days ago. The recovery, carried out on 10 November 2026, marks a fresh breakthrough in the ongoing security crackdown against Left Wing Extremism in central India.
The Arrest and the Recovery
Sanjay Yadav, also known by his alias Godram, was apprehended by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Thane. He is a Zonal Committee Member (ZCM) of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). Following his interrogation, he was handed over to the Palamu police, whose teams then acted on the intelligence he provided to locate and recover the concealed weapon and cartridges from the forest.
Who Is Sanjay Yadav?
Yadav, a resident of Devgan (Tilhadwa) village under the Chhatarpur police station area of Palamu, carries a combined bounty of ₹13 lakh — ₹10 lakh in Jharkhand and ₹30 lakh in Bihar. He is reportedly wanted in connection with 53 cases across two states: 23 in Palamu, 20 in Aurangabad, and 10 in Gaya district of Bihar. The charges include murder, attacks on police personnel, extortion, arson, explosions, and unlawful possession of arms and explosives.
A Catalogue of Alleged Crimes
According to police records, Yadav has allegedly been implicated in several high-profile Naxalite incidents over the years. On the night of 25–26 April 2019, he was allegedly involved in the bombing of the BJP election office at Hira Complex in Hariharganj Bazaar. He is also accused of setting fire to construction machinery and temporary sheds at a bridge site over the Batane River near Turi village.
On 23 November 2019, a firing incident in Pipra Bazaar allegedly resulted in the deaths of JMM block president Mohan Kumar Gupta and civilian Suraj Kumar Soni, while two others sustained injuries. Yadav is named as an accused in that case.
In August 2023, labourers and clerical staff engaged in road construction on the Mahudand-Kala Pahad road were allegedly taken hostage, and vehicles and machinery — including three Hiva trucks, a grader, a roller, a paver, a tractor, and a motorcycle — were destroyed. Yadav is an accused in this incident as well.
Notably, in July 2023, can bombs and cylinder bombs were allegedly planted beneath a culvert near Harna village on the Pipra-Chhatarpur main road, reportedly targeting security personnel. In February 2025, an IED weighing approximately 8–9 kg was recovered from the Dudhiya forest in Hussainabad. In May 2025, an encounter between security forces and a Maoist squad occurred in the Barwahi forest under the Pandu police station area — Yadav is alleged to be connected to both incidents.
Significance of the Seizure
The recovery of an INSAS rifle — a weapon standard to Indian security forces — from a Maoist cache underscores the persistent challenge of illegal arms acquisition by extremist networks in the region. This comes amid a broader, sustained counterinsurgency push across the Jharkhand-Bihar-Chhattisgarh belt, where security agencies have ramped up operations in recent years. The inter-state coordination between the Maharashtra ATS and Palamu police in this case reflects the increasingly networked nature of such operations.
Further investigation into Yadav's network and activities is ongoing, with police likely to pursue leads that could expose wider arms-supply and logistical chains supporting Maoist operations in the region.
Point of View
But the larger story is what it reveals about the durability of Maoist networks. That Sanjay Yadav was picked up in Thane — far from his operational base — suggests these cadres move freely across state lines, complicating jurisdiction and intelligence-sharing. The recovery of an INSAS rifle raises uncomfortable questions about how security-force-standard weapons enter Maoist arsenals. With the Centre intensifying anti-Naxal operations, the pressure on mid-tier commanders like Yadav is rising — but dismantling the supply and extortion chains that sustain them remains the harder, unfinished task.
NationPress
10 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sanjay Yadav alias Godram, the arrested Maoist commander?
Sanjay Yadav, alias Godram, is a Zonal Committee Member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), wanted in 53 criminal cases across Jharkhand and Bihar. He carries a combined bounty of ₹13 lakh and is accused of crimes including murder, extortion, arson, and attacks on security forces.
Where and how was Sanjay Yadav arrested?
Yadav was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Thane. He was subsequently handed over to the Palamu police in Jharkhand for further investigation.
What was recovered from the Palamu forest and why does it matter?
An INSAS rifle and a large quantity of ammunition were recovered based on information Yadav provided during interrogation. The seizure is significant because the INSAS is a standard Indian security-forces weapon, raising concern about how such arms enter Maoist caches.
What are the most serious crimes Sanjay Yadav is accused of?
Among the most serious is the November 2019 firing in Pipra Bazaar in which JMM block president Mohan Kumar Gupta and civilian Suraj Kumar Soni were killed. He is also accused in the 2019 bombing of a BJP election office in Hariharganj and the 2023 hostage-taking of road construction workers in Palamu.
What is the status of the investigation?
Sanjay Yadav has been handed over to the Palamu police and further investigation is ongoing. Authorities are expected to pursue leads into his wider network, arms-supply chains, and connections to other Maoist operatives across Jharkhand and Bihar.
