Jharkhand: PLFI Militant Mota Held in Gumla With Weapons

A key arrest has been made in Jharkhand's ongoing fight against armed extremism. Gumla Police have detained Vishram Kongadi, widely known as Mota, a zonal commander of the proscribed People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), along with three associates.

Officials said Kongadi had long been a wanted figure, with 16 cases registered against him in Gumla, Khunti and Simdega. Weapons, ammunition, banned leaflets and mobile phones were recovered from the group during the arrest.

Intelligence and planning

According to Gumla SP Harish Bin Jama, police received a confidential input on October 22 that certain active PLFI cadres were preparing a major crime near Bongada village in Kamdara police station area. After verifying the information, police initiated a targeted response.

A raid team was assembled under Basia Sub-Divisional Police Officer Shiv Shankar Marandi, drawing personnel from Kamdara and Basia police stations. The combined team searched the area and took the zonal commander and three others into custody.

The remaining suspects

Besides Kongadi, the arrested men are Amar Surin, Etwa Kongadi alias Etwa Master and Apit Topno alias Benda. Police are questioning them to learn more about the outfit's operations and the identities of its other members.

What police seized

Officers recovered a country-made pistol, two magazines, a country-made gun and a country-made katta. Seven cartridges, an empty shell, six banned PLFI pamphlets and four mobile phones were also taken into possession. Investigators hope the phones will reveal the accused's contacts and connections within the organisation.

Movements across three districts

Kongadi operated in Khunti, Gumla and Simdega. He had been under police watch for some time, and the operation was launched after reports that he was assembling with other members around Kamdara.

August arrests recalled

Earlier, in August 2026, Gumla Police had acted against the banned Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) and arrested four militants from the Dumri police station area. Among them was sub-zonal commander Ramdev Lohra alias Kaka, who had a five lakh rupee reward on his head. Others arrested included area commander Arvind Nayak, Muneshwar Singh and Jitendra Lohra.