Chhattisgarh, March 20 — At least 30 Maoists and a security personnel were killed in two separate anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region on Thursday, police said.
In the larger encounter, 26 Maoists were gunned down along the Bijapur-Dantewada border in south Bastar, where a member of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was also killed.
The joint security team had launched a combing operation in the Gangaloor police station area when the gunfight began around 7 a.m. and lasted until the afternoon. During the subsequent search, police recovered the bodies of 26 Maoists along with a large cache of arms and ammunition.
The second operation occurred along the Kanker-Narayanpur border in north Bastar, where a joint team of DRG and Border Security Force personnel clashed with Maoists. By 1:30 p.m., police confirmed the recovery of four Maoist bodies from the site.
‘Major Success’
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai called the encounters a significant achievement in the ongoing fight against Naxalism.
“Today our soldiers have achieved another big success in the direction of ‘Naxal Mukt Bharat Abhiyan,’” Shah wrote on X, adding that the Modi government was pursuing a “zero tolerance policy” against Maoists unwilling to surrender. “The country is going to be Naxal-free before 31 March next year,” he said.
Sai hailed the operations as a victory but expressed condolences over the death of the DRG personnel.
“The State government remains fully committed to eradicating Naxalism, and security operations will continue until Chhattisgarh is free from this menace,” he said.
The twin operations pushed the number of Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh this year past 100, marking a further escalation in the anti-Naxal campaign.
