Security forces shot dead at least eight Maoists in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, officials aware of the matter said — taking the number of rebels killed in the state this year to 55 amid an uptick in anti-Left Wing Extremism (LWE) operations.
The gunfight broke out in the morning after a joint team of the Chhattisgarh police’s District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force (STF) and CRPF’s CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) commandos launched a search operation in the jungles falling under the Gangaloor police station area.
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“The bodies of eight Naxals have been recovered from the spot. Many more ultras have either been killed or injured. The operation at the site is still underway. We have recovered an Insas rifle, a barrel grenade launcher and other weapons from the spot,” inspector general of police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said.
The encounter is part of a series of successful anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh this year. Security forces have intensified aggression against the insurgents, gunning down some of their top leaders in encounters spread across Chhattisgarh, intending to eradicate Maoist violence in India by March 2026. Last year, security forces killed 219 Maoists in the state, much higher than the 22 killed in 2023 and the 30 in 2022.
The string of high-profile encounters is aimed at pushing back extremists, taking over their jungle hideouts, and crippling their fortifications.
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“This is a big success for the security forces, I salute their courage. The soldiers are fighting strongly against Naxalism.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah have resolved to end Naxalism from the country and state by 31 March 2026. We are succeeding in fulfilling this resolution, Naxalism is counting its last breaths,” chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said.
Saturday’s encounter assumed significance as it was in the same district in which Maoists killed nine people, including eight personnel, by blowing up a vehicle on January 6. Of the50 Maoists killed this year, 31 have been shot dead in Bijapur. The encounters are part of a broader government offensive against the Maoists, constructing roads and setting up camps in districts and areas that were once plagued by Left-wing extremism.
Since December 2023, the security forces have intensified aggression against LWE, creating 17 new forward camps in what were thus far thought to be core Maoist-controlled areas. This includes areas inside Abhujmad, a 4,000 sq-km expanse of forests that straddles Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
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Several attempts at conducting preliminary surveys in the region have taken place since 2017, but each has been stymied by the extremely difficult geography, complete lack of infrastructure, and heavy Maoist fortification. It is because of this administrative vacuum that most security officers in Bastar refer to the area as the “last bastion of the Maoists”, where the senior-most cadre, including the politburo and the central committee, of the CPI(Maoist) take refuge through the year.
“ I appeal to the Maoists to surrender or they have to face the wrath of security forces,” state home minister home minister Vijay Sharma said.