Raipur: Fourteen Maoists, including an area committee secretary, were killed in two separate encounters by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) in Chhattisgarh on Saturday morning. The encounters were conducted in the state’s Sukma and Bijapur districts.
This was the first encounter between Maoists and security forces this year.
According to officials, 12 Maoists were killed in southern Sukma, while two were killed in Bijapur, where the encounter broke out at 5 am.
Among those killed in Sukma was Mangdu, secretary of the Konta area committee, the police said. All armed Maoists of the Konta area committee have been neutralised after this encounter, Sukma SP Kiran Chawan said.
The encounters came on a day when several Maoists, including Barsa Deva alias Barsa Sukka, a top commander of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army Battalion 1, are scheduled to surrender before Telangana police chief B Shivadhar Reddy.
Security forces are likely to intensify their operations against the Maoists further in the days to come as 31 March, 2026 – the deadline set by Union home minister Amit Shah to end Left Wing Extremism in the country – looms.
Over 500 Maoists have been killed in Chhattisgarh alone since 2024.
