18 Naxals killed, four security personnel injured in twin encounters in Chhattisgarh

18 Naxals killed, four security personnel injured in twin encounters in Chhattisgarh

Security forces killed 18 Naxals, including 11 women, in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh's Sukma and Bijapur districts in the Bastar region on Saturday. This marks a significant achievement in the ongoing effort to eliminate Naxalism by March 31, 2026.

The clashes took place just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to Chhattisgarh.

Four security personnel were injured during the operations, which resulted in the deaths of 17 Naxal cadres, including a senior Maoist leader, Kuhdami Jagdish, who had a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, according to police sources.

Kuhdami Jagdish was wanted for his involvement in over a dozen deadly Naxal attacks, including the 2013 Jhiram Valley attack that resulted in the deaths of several Congress leaders.

Another encounter took place in the nearby Bijapur district, where one Naxal was killed, according to a police officer.

Among the four security personnel injured, three are members of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a state police unit, and the fourth is from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), officials said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah praised the Sukma encounter, saying those carrying weapons and resorting to violence cannot bring change but peace and development can.

"Another strike on Naxalism! Our security agencies have neutralised 16 Naxalites and recovered a massive cache of automatic weapons in an operation in Sukma," he posted on 'X'.

The Home Minister said that under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, the government is determined to eradicate Naxalism by March 31, 2026.

Ten days earlier, security forces had neutralized 30 members of the banned CPI (Maoist) group in two separate encounters in Bijapur and Kanker districts, both located in the Bastar region, including Sukma.

The gunfight erupted around 8 am in the forest area under Kerlapal police station in Sukma district, where a joint team of security forces was conducting an anti-Naxalite operation, said Inspector General of Police of Bastar Range Sundarraj P in an interview with PTI.

The IG said personnel from the DRG and CRPF’s 159th battalion were involved in the operation launched on Friday night based on inputs about the presence of Maoists in the forests of Gogunda, Nendum and Upampalli villages in the Kerlapal police station area, he said.

Once the firefight concluded, the bodies of 17 Naxalites, including 11 women, were recovered from the scene, according to the IG.

He added that three DRG members and one CRPF jawan sustained minor injuries during the clash.

The injured jawans have been admitted to a hospital, and their condition was stated to be normal, he said.

Sundarraj said that a large haul of weapons was seized from the encounter site, which included an AK-47 rifle, self-loading rifle (SLR), INSAS rifle, .303 rifle, a rocket launcher, barrel grenade launcher (BGL), and explosives.

So far, seven of the killed Naxal cadres have been identified, and efforts are ongoing to determine the identities of the others, according to the official.

Kuhdami Jagdish, alias Budhra, a special zonal committee member of Maoists and secretary of Darbha division is among seven identified neutralised Naxalites, he said.

Jagdish was reportedly involved in more than a dozen deadly Naxal incidents, including the 2013 Jhiram Valley attack that killed several Congress leaders. He was also carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh, the official added.

Six other deceased cadres include four area committee members of the Maoists, he said.

A search operation is still in progress in the region.

In Bijapur district, a gunfight broke out in a forest near Narsapur-Tekametla villages, as a joint security force team was carrying out an anti-Naxalite mission, according to a police officer.

The official confirmed that the operation involved personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the 210th battalion of CoBRA, an elite CRPF unit.

A Naxalite's body and a weapon were recovered from the encounter site, and the search operation in the area is still ongoing.

So far this year, 134 Naxalites have been killed in separate encounters across the state, with 118 of them eliminated in the Bastar division.