Jharkhand Police Arrest PLFI Chief Amrit Horo with ₹10 Lakh Bounty

Ranchi (IANS): Ranchi Police arrested Amrit Horo, a top commander of the banned People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), who is wanted in multiple cases, officials announced on Thursday.

The Jharkhand government had previously placed a ₹10 lakh reward on his head. Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Ranjan received specific intelligence that Amrit Horo planned to attend a wedding in Jamakel village along the Ranchi-Khunti border.

Acting on the input, a special team—comprising the Quick Response Team (QRT) and other units—launched a late-night operation, cordoned off the area, and apprehended him. Horo, a native of Jamakel village, had shifted his hideouts for a long time to evade arrest while maintaining his operations in the border areas of Ranchi and Khunti, officials said.

Police have moved Horo to a secure location, where they are interrogating him to gather details about his network, associates, and the organisation’s activities. Khunti Police will also question him.

Horo faces accusations in several serious cases across Ranchi, Khunti, and nearby Jharkhand districts. His alleged crimes include extortion, collecting levies from construction sites and railway projects, arson, firing, and engaging in encounters with security forces.

Police records show that Horo drove extremist activities for several years, rising to become a top commander of the outfit. About one-and-a-half years ago, security forces clashed with Horo in an encounter, but he managed to escape by exploiting the forested and hilly terrain.

Amrit Horo assumed leadership of the PLFI last year after security forces killed the outfit’s supremo, Martin Kerketta, in the Kamdara area of Gumla district. Since then, Horo had directed the outfit’s activities while evading a prolonged police manhunt.

Police expect his arrest to deal a significant blow to the PLFI’s network and financial operations. Investigators continue to interrogate him to identify other active members of his network and locate hidden arms caches.