Senior CPI (Maoist) leader Asim Mondal alias Akash has been arrested by the Kolkata Police Special Task Force (STF) in West Bengal, bringing to an end more than 15 years of his reported underground activity across inter-state forest areas.

Mondal, a member of the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee and secretary of its West Bengal State Committee-I, was arrested from the Patashpur area of Purba Medinipur on Thursday, September 17.

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The arrest came after police received information about his movement in the area. Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand said the operation followed intelligence inputs about Mondal’s presence. He was travelling in a rickshaw in the Polerhat area of Bhangar when an STF team picked him up.

Who is Asim Mondal alias Akash?

Asim Mondal, who is from Paschim Medinipur, is reported to have joined the Maoist movement during his student years in the 1980s.

Mondal later became a Central Committee member and secretary of the CPI (Maoist) West Bengal State Committee-I. He was also associated with the organisation’s activities in the Bengal-Jharkhand region.

Mondal was reportedly associated with senior Maoist commander Kishenji and emerged as a prominent figure in the organisation’s Bengal network after Kishenji’s death in 2011.

Police said Mondal had remained active in Jharkhand after a large number of Maoists moved out of Bengal in 2012. Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand said he had not been making movements in West Bengal but was active in Jharkhand and was allegedly involved in multiple cases.

Why was Asim Mondal wanted by security agencies?

Mondal was wanted in several criminal cases across multiple states. Reports put the number of cases at more than a dozen in Bengal, while another report citing police sources said he was wanted in nearly 55 cases across three states.

He also carried a substantial reward for information leading to his arrest. According to The Indian Express, Jharkhand had announced a ₹1 crore bounty, while Odisha authorities had announced ₹1.20 crore, taking the reported combined bounty to ₹2.20 crore.

His reported cases include allegations linked to killings and rioting in Bengal, according to The Telegraph. These are allegations and charges reported by authorities; the arrest itself does not establish guilt in those cases.

How was Asim Mondal arrested?

The Kolkata Police STF tracked Mondal following information about his movements in the Patashpur area of Purba Medinipur.

Mondal was travelling in a rickshaw in Polerhat when the STF team detained him. Police reportedly seized pen drives, documents, letters and ₹95,000 in cash from his possession.

The arrest followed sustained security operations along the West Bengal-Jharkhand border and the use of technical intelligence to track Mondal.

Police are expected to question him about the Maoist network, associates and activities in the region.

What did the Bengal government say about the arrest?

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari congratulated the Kolkata Police STF following the arrest.

In a post on X, Adhikari said Mondal had evaded law enforcement for more than 15 years across inter-state forest belts and attributed the arrest to technical intelligence. He also said the state government would not allow attempts to revive or expand Maoist networks in West Bengal.

The comments were made by Adhikari following the arrest and represent the state government’s position on the operation.

What happens next for Asim Mondal?

Mondal is expected to be produced before a court, where the next legal proceedings will determine the course of the cases against him.

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Kolkata Police are also expected to investigate his movements, associates and alleged organisational links. The arrest follows the detention or surrender of several people associated with his network, according to police and media reports.

The case is therefore likely to remain under investigation as authorities examine Mondal’s alleged role in the CPI (Maoist) network and the cases pending against him.