At least 14 Naxalites, including a senior leader of the guerrillas named Jayaram Reddy aka Chalapati who carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore, were killed in a gunfight with security forces along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border in Gariaband district on Tuesday.
Union home minister Amit Shah celebrated the joint operation carried out by the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), SoG (Special Operations Group) Odisha and Chhattisgarh police as “another blow to Naxalism”.
At the Maharashtra BJP executive meeting in Shirdi on January 12, Shah had promised to make India Naxal-free within two years of Modi 3.0.
“Take note of my words. By March 31, 2026, Naxalism will be completely wiped out,” he was quoted as saying after nine people were killed in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district in IED (improvised explosive device) blasts set-off by Naxalites on January 6.
Following the deadline set by Shah, the battle between security forces and the Maoist guerrillas has intensified. A total of 40 Naxals have been killed in Chhattisgarh this year already.
Here is a look at some of the major Naxal incidents that have taken place this year already.
January 21:
In a joint operation by the CRPF, SoG Odisha and Chhattisgarh Police along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border, 14 Naxalites were killed on Tuesday.
“With our resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of our security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today,” Amit Shah wrote on X.
“Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat. The CRPF, SoG Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police neutralised 14 Naxalites in a joint operation along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border," he added on X.
An official told PTI that the incident took place late Monday and early Tuesday morning in a forest under the Mainpur police station area along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border.
January 20:
Two women Naxalites were killed while a personnel of CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), a specialised jungle warfare unit of the CRPF, was injured in a gunfight between security forces and the rebels in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district.
This operation was carried out by DRG, CRPF and CoBRA from Chhattisgarh and SOG from Odisha, and it also took place in the same forest under Mainpur police station along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border.
"After the intermittent firing stopped, the bodies of two women Naxalites were found. A CoBRA jawan sustained a superficial bullet injury and has been airlifted to Raipur for medication. His condition is stable," Gariaband superintendent of police Nikhil Rakhecha was quoted as saying by PTI.
January 17:
Police said two Border Security Force personnel were injured after Naxalites set off an IED in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on January 17.
A BSF road-opening party was out patrolling from its camp near Garpa village when the incident occurred.
January 16:
Two CoBRA commandos were wounded after a pressure IED planted by Naxalites went off near Putkel village under the Basaguda police station in Bijapur district.
January 12:
A 10-year-old girl was injured in Sukma district and two policemen also sustained wounds in Bijapur district in similar pressure IED blasts. Two days before that, a villager was killed and three others were injured in two separate such incidents in the Orchha area of Narayanpur district.
January 10:
In retaliation to an IED blast that killed nine on January 6, security forces killed at least three Maoists with the help of drones or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles).
“The UAVs are being used to launch offensives against the Maoists and also to keep an eye on the personnel conducting operations and area-domination exercises in rebel strongholds,” a security official attached to the Union home ministry told The Telegraph.
January 9:
Three Naxalites were killed on the hill of Paliguda-Gundrajgudem in Sukma.
One of the slain Naxalities, Korsa Mahesh, an expert in improvised explosive devices (IED) and “deputy commander” of Maoists' “platoon no. 30”, carried a bounty of Rs 8 lakh.
The two others killed in the operation – Madvi Naveen and Avlam Bheema – carried bounties of Rs 5 lakh each.
January 6:
Naxalites blew up a vehicle with an IED in Bijapur district, killing eight DRG jawans and their civilian driver. Two CoBRA commandos were also injured.
The incident took place near Ambeli village under Kutru police station when the security personnel were returning after an anti-Naxalite operation.
January 5:
Four Naxalites were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region.
The deaths resulted from an anti-Naxalite operation that occurred in a forest in south Abujhmaad along the border of Narayanpur and Dantewada districts.