30 Naxalites were neutralised by security personnel in two different operations in the Chhattisgarh districts of Bijapur and Kanker. 26 Maoists were killed by the security forces during a clash in the forest near the Bijapur-Dantewada border, according to Inspector General (IG) Bastar P. Sundarraj. One member of the Bijapur District Reserve Guard also died in the conflict. The police reported that the altercation began at 7 am on 20th March. The conflict lasted for several hours, during which time both sides engaged in heavy gunfire.
“Today our soldiers have achieved another big success in the direction of ‘Naxal Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’ (Naxal free India campaign). 22 Naxalites were killed in 2 separate operations of our security forces in Bijapur and Kanker of Chhattisgarh. The Modi government is moving forward with a ruthless approach against Naxalites and is adopting a zero tolerance policy against those who are not leaving their arms despite all the facilities ranging from surrender to inclusion. The country is going to be Naxal-free before 31st March next year,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah remarked on social media.
‘नक्सलमुक्त भारत अभियान’ की दिशा में आज हमारे जवानों ने एक और बड़ी सफलता हासिल की है। छत्तीसगढ़ के बीजापुर और कांकेर में हमारे सुरक्षा बलों के 2 अलग-अलग ऑपरेशन्स में 22 नक्सली मारे गए।
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) March 20, 2025
मोदी सरकार नक्सलियों के विरुद्ध रुथलेस अप्रोच से आगे बढ़ रही है और समर्पण से लेकर समावेशन की…
The corpses of 18 Naxalites have been recovered from the scene of the encounter, according to earlier confirmation from Bijapur Police. However, the number rose to thirty, later. They also seized a sizable stash of explosives, ammunition and weapons. Police revealed that a combined squad from the DRG, Special Task Force (STF), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) conducted the anti-Naxal operation. The search teams are still working in the region in an effort to find any lingering Naxal members and recover more weapons.
Security forces grounded four Naxalites close to the village of Koroskodo in the Chhotebethiya police station area during the other confrontation at the Kanker-Narayanpur border area. The authorities noted that while the intermittent firing still continues, automatic firearms have been retrieved. Both areas are currently undergoing search operations. “Four Maoist cadres died in the encounter with security forces near village Koroskodo in Kanker district. The operation and area sanitization are continuing,” officials informed.
19 Naxalites surrender in Bijapur
According to a senior police official, at least 19 Naxalites turned themselves on 17th March in the Bijapur area and nine of them had cash prizes totaling ₹28 lakh on their heads. The cadres, along with a couple, surrendered to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and senior police officers. Bijapur Senior Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav conveyed that the Naxalites expressed dissatisfaction with the “hollow” and “inhuman” Maoist doctrine, abuse of defenseless tribal people by top cadres, tensions developing within the group and the growing influence of security forces.
He added that they were impressed with the ‘Niya Nellanar’ (your good village) initiative, which has been working to provide basic facilities and develop interior areas via the efforts of administration and security forces. Each of them participated in the Gangaloor (or Pamed) area committee of the banned Maoist group in various roles. They were active in the Andhra Odisha Border division. One of them, Dinesh Modiam (36), a Maoist divisional committee member, was wanted in 26 cases in the Bijapur district and carried a ₹8 lakh reward.
Modiam’s wife Jyoti Tati, also known as Kala Modiam (32) and Dula Karam (32), who are both active members of the area committee, each bore a prize of ₹5 lakh. Six of the cadres who turned themselves in had a ₹1 lakh reward each. The cadres received ₹25,000 in aid per person and would receive additional rehabilitation peline with the government’s plan to integrate them into society.
Deva Padam and his spouse, Dule Kalmu, were active members of People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Battalion No. 1 and were among the cadres who gave up their arms, per other reports. They each had a bounty of ₹8 lakh. Five members of the area committee, including Suresh Kattam held ₹5 lakh reward, one of the cadres who turned themselves in had ₹2 lakh and five others had ₹1 lakh each.
4 Naxalites killed in gun battle
On 19th February, an altercation with the security forces in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district killed at least four Maoists, all of whom were women. According to the police, the state’s anti-Maoist Hawk Force and local police started a joint fight early in the morning near Rhonda Forest Camp in the Supkhar Forest Range, near the Chhattisgarh border, based on the intelligence of Maoist movements. Police found three rifles in their possession: an INSAS (Indian small arms system), a self-loading rifle and a 3o3 rifle.
Balaghat additional superintendent of police Vijay Dabar stated, “Acting on tip off movement of Maoist near the Raunda Forest camp of Soopkhar forest area, more than 12 teams of Hawk force, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and district police force conducted a search operation.” The authorities mentioned that the Maoists were trying to hit security officers in the Supkhar forest because they were “angry by recent setbacks due to intensified security operations.”
“Intelligence reports indicated increased Maoist presence and activity in the area, prompting the deployment of the Hawk Force for a search mission. During the operation, the Maoists launched a deadly attack on security personnel with the intent to kill and seize their weapons,” an official stated. The forces responded by fighting back in self-defense with controlled fire. “Overwhelmed by the counteroffensive, several Maoists managed to flee into the dense forests and hilly terrain,” he added.
31 Naxals killed in an encounter
On 9th February, a well-planned intelligence-based operation in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, around 400 kilometers south of Raipur, which borders Telangana and Maharashtra, eliminated 31 Maoists, including 11 women, in one of the largest strikes against Naxalism, in February. The confrontation resulted in the death of head constable Naresh Dhruv of the District Reserve Guards and constable Vasit Raote of the Special Task Force. They were taken to the district headquarters. Two other personnel were injured. After being flown by helicopter from the scene of the incident to Raipur for prompt medical care, the two were declared out of danger.
A composite team of personnel from various security forces was out on an anti-Naxalite operation in the morning when the gunfight broke out in a forest in the Indravati National Park area which is frequently used by Maoist ultras for regrouping and is frequently referred to as the “resting place” or “safe haven” of the Naxals. A huge cache of weapons and explosives has also been seized from the site.
Inspector-General of Police (Bastar Range) P. Sundarraj informed, “The encounter began around 8 am and the exchange of fire between the security forces and Naxalites continued intermittently till 4 pm. The bodies of 31 uniformed Maoists, including 20 men and 11 women, were recovered from the encounter site.” Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma stated, “Police and security forces, more than 650, entered their den from various directions after several days of operations. They were able to neutralize 31 Naxals, all of whom were in uniform. From them, we seized weapons like AK-47s, INSAS rifles, BGL launchers, and other heavy automatic weapons.”
8 Naxalites eliminated in face off with security forces
On 1st February, security forces in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh conducted an anti-Naxal operation that resulted in the deaths of eight Maoists. Their hideouts yielded weapons, including a Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL) Launcher and an INSAS rifle. A police officer stated, “Based on specific information about the presence of armed Maoists in the remote forest area, a joint team of security forces comprised District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its elite unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and Special Task Force (STF) left on anti-Maoist operation from Gangaloor on 31st January.”
He added, “On Saturday morning, there ensued an exchange of firing between the troops and the Maoists. After the encounter, the forces have recovered eight bodies.” He mentioned that there could be more terrorist casualties. According to reports, the killed cadres belonged to the West Bastar Division of Maoists.
10 Naxals gave up the armed struggle in Bijapur
On 31st January, ten Naxalites, five of whom possessed a total reward of ₹6 lakh on their heads, surrendered in the district of Bijapur. According to an official, Arjun Madkam, also known as Arjun Genne (20) was a member of the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) division of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and served on the Niyamgiri local committee. He had a bounty of ₹2 lakh.
Hadma Tati alias Morli (38) was the chairman of the Chetna Natya Mandli, a Maoist culture wing, and the vice-president of the Jantana Sarkar-led Palaguda Revolutionary Party Committee (RPC). “Tati, Madvi, Bhima and Nanda carried rewards of Rs 1 lakh each. Dula Madvi alias Bodda was the Palaguda RPC Jantana Sarkar member and headed the agriculture wing. The other four were lower rung cadres.” the official unveiled.
16 Naxalites eliminated by security forces
At least 16 Maoists were slain in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband area on 21st January and 12 of them bore a reward of over ₹3 crore. They had been identified, according to Inspector General of Police, Raipur Range Amresh Mishra and had a total bounty of ₹3.13 crore in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The most infamous of them was Chalapathi alias Ramchandran, Pratap Reddy, Appa Rao and Ravi, who carried a reward of ₹90 lakh and was a member of the central committee of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
The amount had been offered by Andhra Pradesh (₹25 lakh), Odisha (₹25 lakh) and Chhattisgarh (₹40 lakh). Chalapathi lived in the Andhra Pradesh district of Chittoor. The commander of the Dhamtari-Gariaband-Nuapada (DGN) division of Maoists, Satyam Gavde (43),and Jairam alias Guddu (50), a member of the Odisha state committee and secretary of the division, were also identified in addition to Chalapathi. Both had a total reward of ₹65 lakh across three states and were locals of Chhattisgarh.
The total bounty on the four members of the area committee, Shankar, Kalmu Deve alias Kalla, Manju, and Rinki, was ₹13 lakh. Three additional people, including party member Sukhram and members of the Mainpur LGS (local guerilla squad) Rame Oyam (28) and Jaini (24) each had a reward of ₹3 lakh on their heads. 17 automatic weapons, including one Self-Loading Rifle (SLR) and an AK-47 rifle, were located at the scene of the incident.
Personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its anti-Naxal commando unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), the Odisha Police’s Special Operation Group (SOG) and the Gariaband district police unit E-30 participated in the operation. Furthermore, the security personnel have neutralized over two dozen explosive devices that the Naxals planted near the encounter spot. According to a police statement, security officers were fired upon by Maoists, who then suffered retaliation The action resulted in the injuries of two security officers, one from the Odisha police SOG and one from CoBRA.
12 Naxalites gunned down
On 16th January, a violent clash with security forces in the Bijapur area of Chhattisgarh claimed the lives of at least 12 Naxalites. A joint security force conducting an anti-Naxalite operation in a south Bijapur forest was engaged in a gunfire that began at around 9 am and continued intermittently until late in the evening.
According to reports, the operation, which was started in south Bijapur, which borders Telangana, involved approximately 1500 security personnel from the state police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) from three districts, five battalions of CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), an elite jungle warfare unit of the CRPF and the 229th battalion of the CRPF.
The security officers also retrieved weapons from the site of the encounter. After learning that senior Maoist cadres were present, the state police launched a joint interstate operation. Tthe encounter started in the south Bijapur jungles of Pujari Kanker-Murudbaka. The teams of security forces ambushed the Maoists from all sides.
5 Naxals eliminated in fierce gun battle
Five Naxalites were shot dead by security troops in Bijapur’s Madded area on 12th January. An encounter with the security forces in the vicinity of Indravati National Park resulted in the deaths of the five Naxals, two of whom were women. Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) P. Sundarraj stated that when the gunfight started, a combined group of members from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force, and District Force were involved in an anti-Naxal operation.
“On Sunday since early morning onwards, there was an intermittent encounter between the security forces and the Naxalites in the forest of Bandepara-Koranjed, which lasted till three to four pm. Later, during the search from the spot, the bodies of two women and three men, i.e. five Maoists in uniform were recovered,” he informed. According to the police, they also found explosives, Maoist literature, a 12 Bore, two single-shot rifles, a country-made pistol, a BGL launcher and an SLR (Self-Loading Rifle) at the scene of the encounter.
More Naxalities killed in multiple clashes this year
On 29th January, security forces and the CPI (Maoists) clashed in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, killing two Maoists. Two INSAS rifles were found at the location. “A joint team of Jharkhand Police and 209 Cobra Battalion had an encounter with Maoists during which two, including one woman, were killed. A security personnel sustained a minour injury in his hand,” Chaibasa SP (Superintendent of Police) Ashutosh Shekhar conveyed.
At least three Naxalites lost their lives in a clash with police forces in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, on 12th January. According to police sources, the gunfight started at a forest in the Indravati National Park area when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation. The police team included personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRF), Special Task Force (STF) and the district force were involved in the operation. Three Naxalites wearing “uniform” were discovered dead at the scene after the sporadic gunfire ceased, along with explosives and weaponry, including automatic ones.
On 9th January, three Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Sukma area of Chhattisgarh. The Maoists perished in an anti-Naxal search operation by the state police’s District Reserve Guard and Special Task Force, together with members of the CRPF’s elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, according to a senior police officer. The members were alerted about the existence of prominent Maoists in the border regions of Bijapur and Sukma.
“During the operation, on 09.01.2025, at around 10:00 a.m., an encounter started between security forces and Maoists in the jungle hill between village Paliguda-Gundrajgudem, which continued intermittently. After the end of the encounter, when all the teams searched, the bodies of three male Maoists were recovered along with BGL launcher, other weapons, a large amount of explosives and Naxal material was found,” a police statement read.
On 6th January, five Naxalites were eliminated in an encounter with security forces in the Bastar district. When a combined team of security officers went out on an anti-Naxalite operation in the evening, a shootout broke out at a forest in south Abujhmaad along the border of Narayanpur and Dantewada districts. Sannu Karam, the head constable of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), was also killed in the gunfight.
The Special Task Force (STF) and DRG personnel from four districts, Narayanpur, Bastar, Kondagaon and Dantewada were part of the operation. According to initial reports, top members of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of Maoists battalion number 32 of the PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army were among the deceased. Automatic firearms were uncovered on the scene, including self-loading rifles (SLRs) and AK-47 rifles.
A Naxalite was killed on 3rd January in the Raipur division’s Gariaband district during a confrontation with security forces. More Naxalites died in similar operations launched by the security forces this year.
6 Naxalites surrender in Karnataka
Six Maoists, who were active in Karnataka surrendered before Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on 9th January. The six are Sundari Kuthlur, Vanajakshi Balehole, Marappa Aroli, Jisha, K Vasanth and Mundagaru Latha, who is regarded as the head of the armed movement in South India. Jisha is from Kerala and Vasanth is from Tamil Nadu while the others are from various regions of Karnataka.
Latha reportedly had 85 cases, followed by Sundari with 71 cases, Balehole with 29, Aroli with 50, Jisha with 17 and Vasanth with 8. They were given copies of the Constitution by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Latha symbolically handed over their olive green uniform and a charter of demands. Siddaramaiah then announced that the state was “Maoist-free.” He promised that the state administration will make a sincere effort to meet their requests.
This occurred less than two months after Maoist leader Vikram Gowda was killed on 18th November in the Peetabailu village of Udupi district during a clash with Anti-Naxal Force.
Moreover, many arrests have also been made, including one in Kanker in North Bastar where police captured an accused Naxalite named Malti, also known as Raje or Nirmala Kange, who had a ₹8 lakh bounty, in January. Shyamnath Usendi, a Kanker resident who had offered refuge, has also been taken into custody. Kanker Police earlier nabbed Prabhakar, also known as Balmuri Narayan Rao, Raje’s husband and Maoist cadre.
During an operation in three distinct places in the Bijapur district in February, security personnel detained 18 Naxalites and retrieved explosives from them. Ten Naxalites and explosives were reportedly taken into custody from the Gunjeperti jungles near the Usur police station. Along with explosives, seven people were apprehended from the Rajpenta forest near the Basaguda police station. One Maoist with explosives was also captured as a result of a coordinated operation by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Bhairamgarh Police station.
Action against Naxals in recent months
An encounter with security forces in the Narayanpur area of Chhattisgarh in December ended up in the killings of at least seven Naxals. The Central Reserve Police Force and a police squad were conducting an anti-Naxalite operation in the early hours of the morning when the gunfight started in the south Abujhmaad forest. The following day, two more Naxalites were shot dead during a confrontation with security forces in the Bijapur area of Chhattisgarh. The gunfire happened in the morning as a group of security guards were on an anti-Naxalite operation in the forest between the villages of Nendra and Punnur.
A shootout between the Telangana police and seven other Maoists, including a top commander, took place in the Chalpaka jungles of the Mulugu district of Telangana, in the same month. A member of the CPI (Maoist) Telangana State Committee and the commander of the Yellandu-Narsampet area committee, Bhadru alias Kursam Mangu (35) was among the dead. Egolapu Mallaiah (43), Mussaki Deval (22), Mussaki Jamuna (23), Jai Singh (25), Kishore (22) and Kamesh (23) were the other six Maoists.
Along with other weapons and explosives, police found AK-47, G3 and INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) rifles at the scene. The operation was a part of the effort intended to prevent the Maoist revival in the area. On 23rd November 2024, a police task group targeted Maoist movements in Wazeedu Mandal during the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) week celebrations in response to intelligence reports.
Five members of the Maoist JMWP (Jayashankar, Mulugu, Warangal and Peddapally) division committe were captured near the Velugu Vagu stream on 1st December 2024, at approximately 6:18 am. Police confiscated a number of weaponry, including one G-3 rifle, explosives, INSAS rifles and AK-47 along with Maoist literature and several kit bags. According to reports, the detained individuals assisted senior CPI (Maoist) cadres with recruitment, logistics and operational support.
Approximately 500 kilometers south of Raipur, in the hilly, forested area of Bhandarpadar-Korajuguda-Nagaram in the sensitive district of Sukma, at least ten cadres of the outlawed Maoist CPI were killed in November 2024 during a gunfight with state forces. Sanjay Ganjhu, the zonal commander, was one of the Maoists slain in the conflict. The other one was the female acquaintance of Anal Da, the infamous Maoist with a ₹1 lakh bounty on his head.
On 8th November, three Naxalites were killed in a clash with police forces in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. Around 11 am, a shootout started on the wooded hills of Rekhapalli-Komathpalli, which are located in the district at the intersection of Usoor-Basaguda-Pamed. The operation, which was started in response to information on the presence of Maoists in the area, involved personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action).
31 ultras were shot dead in an encounter near the boundary between the districts of Dantewada and Narayanpur on 4th October, marking the greatest win in Chhattisgarh’s four-decade-long battle against the red-terror. Previously, 29 Naxalites were exterminated in the Kanker district’s Chhotebethiya region on 16th April.
War on Left-wing terrorism
The recent victories against left-wing extremism are a significant step in the direction of the deadline set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for ending naxalism on 31st March 2026. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we broadly devised a four-pronged strategy to replace weapons and violence with development and trust in the so-called Red Corridor that extended from Pashupatinath in Nepal to Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh,” he voiced in a recent interview with India Today.
The Bijapur district in the state’s Bastar range has seen the surrender of 84 Maoists so far this year. Seven districts in the Bastar area, including Bijapur, witnessed 792 Maoists surrender last year. “The security forces penetrated into the stronghold territory of Maoists to strike and eliminate them. The success achieved by the troops is commendable. Hats off to their courage and bravery. In the last 13 months, 282 Maoists have been neutralised, 1033 arrested and 925 have surrendered in Chhattisgarh,” Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai highlighted after February’s Naxal encounter.
Bijapur continues to be one of Bastar’s most severely Maoist-affected districts and is known as a hub for left-wing extremists in south Chhattisgarh. According to police, 23 Naxalites turned themselves in to authorities in the Bijapur area in 2025, while 46 were taken into custody and 17 were shot dead. The ongoing battles with left-wing radicals are a part of the revised strategy to rid the state of Chhattisgarh of the influence of the banned Maoists. The Maoists experienced the greatest loss in their history in 2024 when 219 of them were killed in conflict-torn Bastar.
“First, the political will of the central as well as the state government is on the same page, which has helped the forces move forward aggressively, making forward camps filling up the security vacuum in places like Abujhmad (an unsurveyed area larger than the state of Goa) and south Bastar, which were considered to be safe havens for Maoists. These camps are not only restricting the movement of Maoists, but are also helping forces to conduct major operations,” Chhattisgarh’s former Additional Director General of Police (Naxal operations), RK Vij told “The Indian Express.”
He added, “Moreover, the Niyad Nellanar scheme, where basic amenities are being provided to villagers from these camps, is sending a positive message to local residents.” The number of forward base camps has significantly increased in recent months. These camps make it possible to install mobile tower networks and build roads deep within forests. According to officials, this has assisted in closing the security vacuum and shrinking regions that had been affected by Maoists for more than 40 years.
Amit Shah stated in October of last year that 14 key CPI (Maoist) leaders nationwide and 85% of the strength of left-wing extremists in Chhattisgarh had been decimated in the previous ten years. According to current data, around 8551 Naxal terrorists were eliminated between 2014 and 2024, while many more gave up their weapons nationwide.
Amit Shah disclosed the government’s multifaceted approach, which focuses on filling the security void and promoting progress while including the impacted states, has resulted in a 53% decrease in Left-wing extremism violent occurrences between 2014 and 2024 compared to 2004 and 2014. The number of districts reporting Left-wing extremism violence decreased by 57% and the number of civilian and security force deaths also decreased by 70%.
He declared that, in comparison to 2004-14, the amount reimbursed to impacted states under the center’s security-related expenditure plan increased threefold to ₹3,006 crore in 2014-24. Over the past ten years, ₹3,590 crore has been spent under the special central support initiative.
As previously reported by OpIndia, the Indian government has made significant strides in dismantling the strongholds of red terror, marking a notable achievement. However, further efforts are required to eradicate it completely from the nation. Nevertheless, the government appears to be progressing in the right direction, given its successes in combating left-wing extremism and fostering democracy and welfare in the impacted regions.
