On August 5, 2025, Martin Kerketta, the ‘supremo’ cum ‘area commander’ of the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), was killed during an encounter in the Changabadi Bantoli Forest area under Kamdara Police Station limits in the Gumla District of Jharkhand. Following the encounter, a 5.76 mm pistol and bullets were recovered near Kerketta’s body, while some of his associates managed to flee from the spot. PLFI is a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).
Terming it a significant blow to the PLFI, Gumla Superintendent of Police (SP) Haris Bin Zaman disclosed,
We received secret information that members of PLFI extremists are roaming in the forest/mountainous areas around villages Changabadi and Bantoli, under Kamdara Police Station, with the intention of carrying out a major incident. Based on the said information, a raid team was formed under the leadership of Nazir Akhtar, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Basia, in which the Kamdara Police Station officer and the Quick Response Team (QRT) of the Gumla District Force were jointly included in the raid operation. In the same sequence, on August 5, an encounter took place between the Police force and PLFI militants, in which PLFI ‘supremo’ cum ‘area commander’ Martin Kerketta, carrying a reward of ₹15 lakhs [INR 1.5 million], was killed in the firing done by the Police in self-defence.
According to Jharkhand Police records, as many as 72 cases were lodged against Kerketta in different Police Stations, including 30 in Gumla, six in Simdega, four in Chaibasa, one in Chatra, three in Hazaribagh, 11 in Ranchi and 17 in Khunti districts of Jharkhand, under the Criminal Law Amendment Act (CLA) and the Arms Act.
Kerketta is said to have assumed leadership of the PLFI following the arrest of its former ‘supremo’, Dinesh Gope, in Nepal. On May 21, 2023, Dinesh Gope aka Kuldeep Yadav aka Badku (51) was arrested in New Delhi; however, media reports claimed that Gope was arrested in Nepal in a joint operation by the NIA and the Jharkhand Police. An unnamed Police official was also quoted as saying, “Yes, he has been arrested in Nepal and he is being brought to Delhi, where he will be produced before a competent court for further course of action.”
Both Gope and Kerketta were schoolmates in Mahugaon under the Lapung Block of Ranchi District, had studied together, and had subsequently worked jointly to expand the organization, up until Gope was arrested by NIA. Kerketta, a resident of Redma village in Kamdara, was an active member of the PLFI’s ‘central committee’. He played a key role in formulating strategies related to extortion, intimidation, and armed operations. His criminal activities largely revolved around extortion in the name of the PLFI. Police officials stated that Kerketta’s influence in the organisation stemmed from his longstanding association with Dinesh Gope.
According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), three PLFI-linked fatalities (all PLFI cadres) have been recorded in the current year, so far (data till August 10, 2025). During the corresponding period in 2024, one fatality (civilian) was recorded, while another three fatalities (two civilians and one PLFI cadre) were recorded in the remaining period of 2024. Thus, through 2024, a total of four fatalities (three civilians and one PLFI cadre) were recorded. Significantly, since May 21, 2023, when Martin Kerketta took charge of PLFI, at least seven PLFI-linked fatalities (three civilians and four PLFI cadres) have been recorded.
No related SF fatality was recorded during the period when Martin Kerketta was the ‘chief’ of PLFI.
Meanwhile, according to partial SATP data, at least 10 PLFI cadres have been arrested since the beginning of the current year (data till August 10, 2025). During the corresponding period of 2024, four PLFI cadres were arrested, and no further arrests were recorded in the remaining period of 2024. Since May 21, 2023, at least 27 PLFI cadres have been arrested. No surrenders of PLFI cadres have been recorded during this period.
SAIR had earlier noted that in July 2007, Masi Charan Purty, a CPI-Maoist renegade, along with several of his followers, had joined Dinesh Gope in order to raise PLFI as a Naxalite (Left Wing Extremist, LWE) outfit. Purty was subsequently arrested, but PLFI expanded its activities under Gope’s command. According to NIA records, PLFI was formerly known as the Jharkhand Liberation Tigers (JLT) and was responsible for hundreds of violent incidents in Jharkhand, including several murders using firearms. The outfit used to lure unemployed youth by providing them motorcycles, mobile phones and easy money and, after imparting training, used to equip them with lethal weapons to execute violent incidents. Extortion is PLFI’s major source of income, and the outfit has been targeting coal traders, railway contractors and other private entities involved in developmental projects in various districts of Jharkhand. The LWE outfit also formed alliances with different criminal gangs in order to spread its activities, and engineered several acts of murder and arson in Jharkhand.
Since July 2007, a total of 228 fatalities, including 115 civilians, seven SF personnel and 106 PLFI cadres, have been recorded, thus far. A peak of 30 fatalities, including 14 civilians and 16 PLFI cadres, was recorded in 2016.
Civilian fatalities, a key index of security, bore the brunt of the PLFI. From one civilian fatality in 2008, deaths in this category increased to four in 2009 and further to eight in 2010, and thereafter remained in double digits till 2014, with a high of 18 civilian killings recorded twice (2011 and 2013). Though no civilian fatality was recorded in 2015, 14 deaths were reported in this category in 2016. Fatalities remained in single digits between 2017 and 2020. No civilian fatalities were recorded in 2021 and 2022. One civilian fatality was recorded in 2023 and three in 2024. Providing a sense of respite, no civilian fatality has been recorded in the current year, so far (data till August 10, 2025).
A total of seven SF fatalities were reported in four years: 2009 (one), 2012 (one), 2014 (three) and 2017 (two). On the other hand, 106 PLFI cadres have been killed since 2008, with a high of 16 in 2016.
Meanwhile, according to partial SATP data, at least 778 PLFI cadres have been arrested since July 2007, while another 32 have surrendered since the formation of the group.
Significantly, the total number of PLFI-linked incidents reached a peak of 29 twice, in 2016 and 2017, and came down to just two in 2024. The number of incidents of killing fell from a peak of 21 in 2013 to one in 2022.
Meanwhile, on April 3, 2024, taking stringent action against PLFI, NIA arrested one accused in a case relating to revival attempts by PLFI, following massive raids across two states, in coordination with the respective State Police forces. Raids and searches were conducted by NIA teams, with the help of local Police, at two locations in Jharkhand and two in Assam. The crackdown led to the arrest of Binod Munda alias Sukkhwa, a PLFI armed cadre wanted in four cases in Jharkhand, from Khunti District. NIA teams also seized a host of incriminating materials, including PLFI-related documents, along with two walkie-talkies, five mobile phones, SIM cards and INR 11,000 in cash, during the search. Interestingly, two accused had been arrested earlier in the case, and with INR 300,000 in cash, as well as arms and ammunition, were recovered. The case was registered on October 11, 2023, under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against Martin Kerkatta and other members of PLFI, for trying to revive the outfit after the arrest of its ‘supremo’, Dinesh Gope by NIA. As part of the revival activities, PLFI members and cadres were involved in generating funds through extortion from various coal traders, transporters, railway contractors, businessmen, etc. in Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, according to NIA investigations.
Following the elimination of Martin Kerkatta, two other elusive PLFI leaders are still to be found on the List of Rewarded Naxal/Criminals Balram Lohara aka Jatu aka Majnu, a resident of Raikera, Kamdara Police Station, Gumla, an ‘area commander’ carrying a reward of INR 200,000; and Samuel Budh aka Samu, a native of Putida, Bandgaon Police Station, West Singhbhum, a Local Guerrilla Squad (LGS) member, carrying a reward of INR 100,000.
PLFI has suffered jolt after jolt, with the arrest of its former ‘supremo’, Dinesh Gope, and the latest elimination of its current ‘supremo’, Martin Kerkatta. The group, nevertheless, remains a concern for SFs. An aggressive campaign against the remaining elusive elements is inevitable, in an effort to wipe out the residual nuisance in the state.
