Ganesh’s underground life of 4 decades: The ‘swamiji’ who vanished into forests and planned Jhiram Ghati ambush

Hyderabad: He moved like a ghost through forests and hillocks—sometimes dressed as a swamiji, a stick in hand and a towel slung across his shoulder—blending so easily into the landscape that security agencies believed he could disappear at will. Yet for all his disguises and aliases, better known as Uike Ganesh, remained indelibly linked to one of the bloodiest chapters of the Maoist insurgency: The Jhiram Ghati ambush of 2013.A native of Pullemla village in Chandur mandal of Telangana’s Nalgonda district, Hanumanthu rose through the ranks to become a central committee member of the CPI (Maoist) and secretary of its Odisha state committee. Known variously as Uike Ganesh, Rajesh Tiwari, Chamru and Somudu, he figured high on the most-wanted lists of police forces across Maoist-affected states. His underground life, spanning more than four decades, ended on Thursday in Kandhamal district of Odisha, where he was killed in a gunbattle with security forces. Born into a middle class Golla family, Hanumanthu studied at upper primary school in Pullemla, completed his schooling at govt high school, Nalgonda, and passed intermediate from govt junior college, Nalgonda. His BSc remained unfinished. He went underground in 1982, when campus politics in Nalgonda spiralled into violence. The killing of Radical Students Union leader Seshaiah by ABVP activists was followed by another murder by RSU, and police suspicion fell on Hanumanthu. Fearing arrest during his BSc final year, he slipped into the underground movement.For years, he operated largely in the West Bastar region, emerging as both organiser and commander. He served as secretary and in-charge of the West Bastar divisional committee and also oversaw the south sub-zonal bureau.Security agencies identified Hanumanthu as a key figure behind several major Maoist operations during his Chhattisgarh years. The most consequential was the May 2013 Jhiram Ghati (Darbha Valley) ambush in Sukma district, where a Maoist attack on a convoy of Congress leaders killed 24 people and injured 34. His alleged role in that operation ensured he remained a priority target thereafter.Even as pressure intensified, Hanumanthu remained elusive. Party notes describe him as having a black tattoo between the eyebrows, wearing spectacles for long sight, and often dressing as a swamiji when outside forest zones. He moved with two armed guards carrying .303 rifles, while his own AK-47 and equipment—including a laptop, phone, printer, batteries and manpacks—were typically carried by his gunmen. He was known to walk two to three hours without a break and spoke Telugu, Hindi, Gondi and English.In later years, he shifted base from West Bastar to Odisha, continuing as Odisha state committee secretary and central committee member, with a reward of Rs 1.2 crore on his head. His killing in Kandhamal closes the arc of a life that began in student politics in Nalgonda and ended in the inner circles of the Maoist high command—a figure remembered as much for his swamiji disguise as for his enduring shadow over Jhiram Ghati.