Bhubaneswar: A Maoist carrying a Rs one crore bounty on his head was among 16 ultras killed in an exchange of fire with security forces on Odisha-Chhattisgarh border, police officials said on Tuesday.
The deceased ultra, identified as Jayram alias Chalapathi, was a member of the Maoists’ Central Committee. He was killed in the gunbattle that took place late Monday night and early Tuesday in a forest along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border.
Sixteen bodies of Maoists have so far been recovered from the encounter site, police said, adding that AK 47, SLR, INSAS and other automatic weapons were also recovered from the forest.
Intensive search operation is underway inside the forest, a senior police official said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the anit-Maoist operation and stated that it was another mighty blow to Naxalism.
“Another mighty blow to Naxalism. 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. With our resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of our security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today,” the Home Minister said in a post on X handle.
The special operation was conducted by the Odisha and Chhattisgarh police along with CRPF on the border areas. The ultras were gunned down in the exchange of fire with security forces in border areas of Nuapada district of Odisha and Gariabandh of Chhattisgarh.
Two women Maoist cadres were neutralised in the operation on Monday and a large cache of arms, ammunition and IEDs including one SLR recovered by the security forces, police said.
Apart from these two women naxals, 14 more red rebels were killed in exchange of fire with the Special Operation Group (SOG) team during the joint inter-state operation late on Monday and early hours of Tuesday.
While the number of Maoist casualties may increase, the security forces seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition the encounter. A massive search operation is underway by the police in the area. It is suspected that top Maoist leaders may be among the deceased or injured.
It may be recalled that since the night of January 19, there were intelligence inputs about the presence of a large number of Maoists in the Kularighat reserve forest of Chhattisgarh, just 5 km from the border of Nuapada district of Odisha. Accordingly, a joint interstate operation comprising SOG (Odisha Police), along with E-30 force of Chhattisgarh Police and CRPF was launched.
In 2024, 6 Maoists were killed, 8 were arrested and 24 Maoists have surrendered. In 2025, till date, 16 Maoists have been killed in joint interstate operations with Police and CAPF.
