A commander of the banned CPI (Maoist) was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand's Palamu district. Another red rebel, carrying a bounty of Rs 15 lakh, was injured in the encounter. Several weapons, including a self-loading rifle, were recovered during the search operation following the gunfight.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said Parliament's Monsoon session is like a 'Vijay Utsav' as the Indian armed forces achieved their objectives under Operation Sindoor 100 per cent, and expressed confidence that the MPs will articulate this sentiment in one voice.
The patrol team first found 13 pressure IEDs and later recovered 149 such bombs, weighing about one kilogram each, from a nearby cave in the area.
In a fresh offensive against Naxals, security forces killed at least 30 members of the banned CPI-Maoists in two separate encounters in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Thursday, officials said.
135 women of 232 battalion's Delta company are undertaking operations in Jharkhand forests.
The personnel belonging to the CRPF's elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action unit, the District Reserve Guard and the Special Task Force were involved in the operation.
Urging Naxals to shun violence, Shah announced that the Chhattisgarh government would announce a "new look" surrender policy in 1-2 months.
A CoBRA commando of the CRPF, who was fatally shot by a Maoist sniper while establishing a new base in Chhattisgarh, was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra, India's third highest peacetime gallantry medal. Constable Pawan Kumar and Constable Devan C, both from the 201 CoBRA battalion, were recognized for their bravery and courage in the face of a Naxal attack. In addition to the two posthumous awards, five other CRPF personnel received the Shaurya Chakra for their roles in two separate operations against Naxals.
Bad weather and hostile terrain have hampered the evacuation operation in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district where armed rebels had on Saturday ambushed a team of Special Task Force killing seven personnel.
'The strategy of frontal organisations of the Maoists is to create unrest and ensure that such unrest leads to a law and order problem.' 'To cover such acts it was necessary to bring in a different definition of unlawful activities which is different from the definition of unlawful activities in the UAPA.'
While it is evident that the INDIA bloc has not shut its doors on Nitish Kumar, those within the NDA are hopeful that the JD-U's support base would benefit them as well
210 Maoist cadres, including a Central Committee member, surrendered to authorities in Chhattisgarh's Jagdalpur, marking the "largest mass surrender" in the state's anti-Naxal operations. The surrendered Naxalites carried a collective bounty of Rs 9.18 crore and handed over 153 weapons. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai hailed the development as a historic moment for Chhattisgarh and the nation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a sharp attack on country's first premier Jawaharlal Nehru, claiming he prevented Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel from fully integrating Kashmir into the Indian Union.
Four Maoists were killed in an encounter with police and CRPF commandos along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border in Gadchiroli district. The encounter took place on Friday following a joint operation launched based on intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoist formations near a recently opened FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Kawande area. The exchange of fire lasted for nearly two hours, and security forces recovered bodies of the four Maoists, along with weapons, ammunition, and Naxal literature.
An alert has been sounded in the anti-Naxal operations theatre of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand following a "spike" in IED blasts and recoveries, including that of a device rigged with beer bottles and a small antenna for remote control explosion. The uptick in improvised explosive device (IED) recovery and blasts has been noticed as multiple security forces move into core Naxal areas to meet the Union government's deadline of wiping off Left Wing Extremism (LWE) from the country by March 2026.
The Border Security Force (BSF) is set to receive government approval for 16 new battalions, comprising around 17,000 personnel, and two forward headquarters for its western and eastern commands. The move aims to strengthen security along the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders, respectively. The new battalions and headquarters are part of a larger plan to address evolving security dynamics and challenges in the border regions.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been awarded the highest number of police gallantry medals, 21, including two Shaurya Chakras, on the eve of Republic Day. A total of 95 bravery medals were awarded to personnel from state and central police forces, fire service, home guard, civil defence, and correctional services. The CRPF's medals included 11 for operations in Jammu and Kashmir, seven for anti-Maoist operations, and one for an operation in the northeast. The second-highest number of medals went to Uttar Pradesh (17), followed by Jammu and Kashmir (15), Chhattisgarh (11), and the Border Security Force (5).
As many as 22 teams of C-60 commandos and two squads of the Central Reserve Police Force under the supervision of senior officials launched an anti-Naxal operation from two different points in the forest area, said the release.
Chiefs of Central Reserve Police Force and Chhattisgarh police, GP Singh and AD Singh respectively, along with senior commanders of the two forces addressed the media in this district, about 450 km from state capital Raipur, to assert that the top armed Maoist leadership was "either eliminated or injured".
In a major joint offensive, separate joint teams of security forces, comprising over 2,000 personnel, had launched an anti-Naxal operation from Bijapur and Sukma districts in the South Bastar forests, considered as the Maoist stronghold, on Friday night.
A search operation was underway on Sunday to trace 18 security personnel who went missing after a fierce gun-battle with Naxals in a forest along the border of Bijapur-Sukma districts in Chhattisgarh, police said.
Of the 37 bodies recovered so far, 16 have been identified, police said, adding that the identified Naxals carried a combined reward of Rs 1.06 crore.
When the fierce encounter ended around 3:30 PM on Saturday after almost 10 hours, senior cadre Milind Teltumbade and 25 ultras had been killed.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Tuesday disfavoured use of air force in dealing with Naxalism, a day after Home Minister P Chidambaram said he was trying to 'convince"' the Cabinet on providing air support to anti-Naxal operations.
The anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region has been suspended in the wake of abduction of Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon.
Chalapathi, a top leader of the CPI(Maoist) and a key figure in the 2008 Nayagarh armoury attack in Odisha, was killed in a gunfight with security forces at the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. He was one of 14 Maoists killed in the encounter, which lasted for two days. Chalapathi, who had been a mystery to security agencies for decades, was eventually identified through a selfie with his wife, Aruna, found in an abandoned smartphone. He was considered an expert in military tactics and guerrilla warfare and had played a significant role in expanding the Maoist network in Odisha.
Security agencies are working to ascertain a claim made by Naxals that they abducted a CoBRA commando after the ambush in Chhattisgarh on Saturday that left at least 22 security personnel dead, official sources said
The killed cadres, identified as Vargese and Linga, were allegedly involved in the ambush in which Mandavi and his four security personnel were killed on April 9, Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.
16 weapons, including 315 bore and 12 bore guns, were recovered from the spot.
This is the third big success in the past fortnight for security forces pushing relentlessly against the Maoists with the aim of ending the menace by March 2026.
Three battalions of the Border Security Force comprising more than 3,000 personnel will move across the border from Odisha to Chhattisgarh and an equal number of Indo-Tibetan Border Police units will further move into the Naxal stronghold of Abujhmad as part of a strategy to intensify anti-Maoist operations in their last bastions, official sources said.
The gunbattle took place at a forest in Kistaram area bordering Telangana
Additional Director General (Naxal operations) Ram Niwas said that a police team of 145 troopers was on a search operation in the Chintalnaar area, when the Naxals struck.
Five police personnel were killed and 13 others injured as Naxals blew up the bus in which they were traveling in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Tuesday, senior police officials said.
The killing of CPI-Maoist general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, the topmost leader by security forces in Chhattisgarh, is a major setback for the banned outfit. Basavaraju, who was on the most wanted list of the NIA, was among the 27 dreaded Naxals killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region. The Telangana Police official said that the killing will be a demoralising factor for the Maoists. The official pointed out that the Maoists are already demoralised and hundreds of their cadres have surrendered before Telangana police besides many being arrested.
The incident occurred a day after Naxals ambushed a team of security forces, killing four BSF personnel.
Earlier on Monday, two women Naxalites were killed and one CoBRA jawan was injured in an encounter during the same operation, they said.
With the Centre approving a home ministry offensive against the Maoists, Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday said the Indian Air Force too was all set to get permission to open fire in self-defence during anti-Naxal operations after laying down safeguards and procedures.
The UAV was in operation in Chhattisgarh for quite sometime and results are excellent, he said adding now as part of a strategy, the UAV will be positioned over eastern Maharashtra.
The security forces did not suffer any casualty in the encounter.
