Patna: Bihar’s Special Task Force (STF) has arrested 64 fugitives from across India so far this year, including several notorious and rewarded criminals, in a sustained drive to tackle organised crime.
ADG (Campaign) Kundan Krishnan said in a press briefing that most arrests were made in Delhi, where 14 suspects were captured. This was followed by 9 in West Bengal, 7 each in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, 6 in Jharkhand, 5 in Haryana, 4 each in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, 2 each in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, and 1 each in Rajasthan, Goa, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur.
The STF, which has shifted its focus after a marked fall in Naxal violence, is playing a key role in breaking up organised gangs. In 2024, 752 criminals were arrested; this year that number has already risen to 857 by August 20. Arrests of Naxalites have also increased, from 44 last year to 101 this year. Recoveries include 12,176 cartridges and 32 regular weapons, up sharply from 3,681 cartridges and 19 weapons in 2024.
Among those detained are high-profile figures such as Butan Chaudhary, carrying a reward of Rs 2,00,000, caught in Maharashtra on August 18; interstate gold robbers Subodh Singh and Vikas Kumar, both carrying rewards of Rs 2,00,000, arrested in Delhi in April; and Rajesh Yadav, a Naxalite with a Rs 1,00,000 bounty, arrested in Raigad, Maharashtra, in March.
The STF has also suffered losses in operations outside the state, with officers including Inspector Mukund Murari, JC Vikas Kumar, JC Jeevdhari Kumar, Inspector Santosh Kumar and Mithilesh Paswan killed in a vehicle accident during a mission in Gujarat.
Kundan added that investigations into the illegal arms trade are being carried out at the national level, with recent raids in Hajipur. Proposals have been sent to the Economic Offences Unit for confiscation of criminal assets, including property linked to the brother of Danapur MLA Ritlal Yadav.
He also clarified that so-called Operation Langda is not being run by police headquarters, stressing that STF action remains focused on arresting criminals and responding with fire only when attacked.
