Chhattisgarh: 12 Maoists Killed By Security Forces In Bijapur

12 Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, according to police reports on Sunday morning. This encounter follows a similar operation a week earlier, in which eight Maoists were killed in Bijapur.

The previous gunfight, which resulted in the deaths of eight Maoists, occurred on January 31 when a joint security team conducted an anti-Maoist operation, as per reports from PTI, quoting a senior police official.

Photo Credit: PTI

The operation, which began on Friday, involved personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) of the state police, along with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its elite CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action).

It was launched after intelligence indicated the presence of Maoist cadres from the 'West Bastar division' in the area.

The security operations align with the central government's commitment to "end Naxalism" by 2026, a goal reiterated by Home Minister Amit Shah on January 6 following the deaths of eight DRG jawans and one driver, who were killed in an IED blast in Bijapur district.

The blast occurred on the Bedre-Kutru Road in Bijapur while the DRG jawans were returning in a Scorpio vehicle after a joint operation, as stated by the IG. The joint operation involved teams from Dantewada, Narayanpur, and Bijapur, the IG of Bastar added.

The Maoist attack on the DRG was the most significant strike on security forces in the last two years. In another attack on April 26, 2023, Maoists killed ten police officers and a civilian driver in a similar IED explosion targeting a convoy in neighbouring Dantewada.

Home Minister Amit Shah expressed his deep sorrow over the deaths of the DRG soldiers in the IED blast in Bijapur on the microblogging platform X.

He wrote, "It is impossible to express this grief in words, but I assure you that the sacrifice of our soldiers will not go in vain."