Indian police have arrested a 32-year-old member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) — a left-wing insurgent group active in central and eastern India — in Latehar district of Jharkhand state following a tip-off raid on his village. The suspect, Mukesh Ganjhu, faces nine pending criminal cases across multiple districts and is alleged to have taken part in arson attacks in 2022 and 2023, as well as the murder of a forest-protection committee member in 2023. Authorities described him as a close associate of a regional committee leader of the banned organisation.