RANCHI, Jan. 24 -- A sustained effort to choke supply lines to the Communist Party of India (Maoist) cadres holed up in Saranda, along with an expanded permanent security presence in deep forest zones, played a key role in eliminating 15 naxalites in a single day in West Singhbhum district, officials involved in the anti-naxal operation said on Friday.

The joint operation, led by the 209 Battalion of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), the elite strike force of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and personnel from Jharkhand Jaguar and the Jharkhand Police on Thursday, registered the biggest-ever anti-naxal strike in the state, eliminating 15 Maoists, including Patiram Manjhi - a Central Committee member of CPI (Maoist) ...