31 Maoists, two securitymen die in fierce Bastar gunbattle | India News

RAIPUR: At least 31 Maoist insurgents and two security personnel were killed Sunday in a fierce gunfight in the dense forests of Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, one of the last Naxal strongholds in the country. The operation is ongoing and officials expect the Maoist death toll to rise.
This is the second-largest Maoist casualty count in a single security strike, after 38 guerrillas were gunned down in Narayanpur’s Thulthuli on October 3 last year. Since 2024, more than 280 Maoists have been killed in Bastar. The number of Maoists killed this year has risen to 81 in just six weeks. Major operations include the killing of 16 Naxal fighters in Gariaband on Jan 21 and eight in Gangaloor on February 2. Security forces have also faced fatalities. On January 6, eight constables and a driver were killed when Maoists targeted their vehicle with an IED weighing nearly 70kg in Bijapur.
Union home minister Amit Shah praised the security forces for the successful operation. “The nation will always be indebted to these heroes…. I once again reaffirm that by March 31, 2026, we will eradicate Naxalism from the roots of this country so that no citizen loses their life due to it,” he said. The gunfight erupted early Sunday after a contingent of over 650 security personnel launched a coordinated operation from multiple directions to hem in insurgents in the jungles of Bijapur’s Indravati National Park.

State transitioning from gun-tantra to gantantra: Chhattisgarh CM
Intelligence reported the presence of a large group of Maoists and senior commanders.
By late afternoon, 31 bodies of Maoist guerrillas had been recovered, Bastar deputy inspector general of police Kamlochan Kashyap said. Two securitymen were wounded, apart from the two killed.
A large cache of Maoist weapons was seized, including AK-47s, SLRs, INSAS and .303 rifles, barrel grenade launchers (BGL) and explosives. Reinforcements have been dispatched to the site, nearly 150km from the district HQ and 420km from Raipur. Indravati was the site of another big operation on January 12, when security forces killed three Maoists. The park borders the Maoist headquarters of Abujhmarh, which straddles in states like Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
The area has long served as a stronghold for insurgents, providing them with a safe zone for recruitment and inter-state movement.
Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai declared that the state is transitioning from “gun-tantra” (rule of the gun) to “gantantra” (democracy). “Our soldiers have entered the Naxal strongholds and are eliminating them. The success achieved by our forces is commendable, and I salute their bravery…,” he said, while condoling the deaths of two security men.

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