New Delhi: Senior CPI (Maoist) politburo member Prashant Bose, widely known by as Kishan Da, passed away at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi on Friday morning following a prolonged illness. He was over 80 years old.
Bose, who carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head, had been in judicial custody at Birsa Munda Central Jail since his arrest in November 2021. His health deteriorated sharply early on Friday, with reports indicating severe breathing difficulties. He was rushed to RIMS around 6 am under heavy security and was declared dead around 10 am during treatment.
A key figure in the banned CPI (Maoist), Bose served as a politburo member and secretary of the party’s Eastern Regional Bureau. Security agencies had long linked him to Maoist activities across Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and parts of the Northeast. He was considered one of the most influential leaders in the outfit’s organisational and operational network in eastern India for decades.
Before the formation of the CPI (Maoist) in 2004 through the merger of the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) and the People’s War Group, Bose played a prominent role in the MCCI. He was regarded as a strategist and ideological figure within the movement and was wanted in over 70 Maoist-related cases in Jharkhand alone.
Bose was arrested in November 2021 along with his wife, Sheela Marandi (also a senior Maoist leader), and others during a joint operation by Jharkhand Police and the CRPF in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.
Police intercepted their vehicle near a toll plaza in the Kandra area based on intelligence inputs about their movement from Parasnath in Giridih district.His death marks a significant blow to the ageing leadership of the CPI (Maoist), which has faced sustained pressure from security forces in recent years. Officials described him as one of the longest-serving and most experienced figures in the outlawed group.
