Chhattisgarh: 30 Maoists, 1 security personnel killed in Bijapur, Kanker encounters

One DRG jawan was killed during the Bijapur encounter. Four other Maoists were found dead in the Kanker district of the state

At least 30 Maoists were killed in two separate encounters in Chhattisgarh, officials said on Thursday. While 26 Maoists were killed in Bijapur district, four were gunned down in Kanker areas by a joint team of the BSF and DRG personnel of the state police.

Representational image 18 Maoists, 1 security personnel killed in Bijapur encounter(File)

A police jawan was also killed in the encounter at Bijapur, they said.

A joint team had been deployed under the Gangalur police station in the border areas of Bijapur and Dantewada districts as part of an anti-Maoist operation. Clashes and search operations to find more bodies in the area are still underway.

Along with the bodies of the Maoists, a large cache of weapons and ammunitions was also found at the site of the encounter.

Union home minister Amit Shah reacted to the encounter in a post on X and said, “Today our soldiers have achieved another major success in the direction of 'Naxal Mukt Bharat Abhiyan'. 22 Naxalites were killed in 2 separate operations of our security forces in Bijapur and Kanker of Chhattisgarh.”

He added, “The Modi government is moving forward with a ruthless approach against Naxalites and is adopting a zero tolerance policy against those Naxalites who are not surrendering despite all the facilities ranging from surrender to inclusion. The country is going to be Naxal-free before 31 March next year.”

On February 9, in an encounter in Bijapur, two security personnel and 31 Maoists were killed in the forests under the National Park area.

In February, a total of 18 Naxalites were arrested and explosives were recovered by security forces during the operations. More than 81 Maoists have died in 2025.