With this, the number of Maoists killed in the gun battle with the security personnel on Friday has risen to 31, they said, adding that a search operation is still underway in the area.
The gunfight occurred in a forest near Hidur village under Chhotebethiya police station limits, where a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said.
He has single-handedly planted over 100,000 trees and shared more than 40,000 saplings with others -- all at no cost.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on Independence Day, focusing on economic growth, self-reliance, and national security. He emphasized manufacturing quality products at affordable prices, supporting farmers, and combating terrorism and infiltration.
In a major anti-Naxal operation, seven Maoists were killed in Betkathi village in Maharashtra's Gondia district in the wee hours on Tuesday.
A contingent of 1,500 personnel drawn from six security camps launched the cordon and search operation against Naxals along Bijapur-Sukma border around the crack of dawn on Saturday.
Almost a week after the Naxal attack on police personnel in Gariaband, in which nine police personnel were killed, the lone police jawan who had gone missing was spotted in an unconscious state in a village in Gariaband. He was hospitalised later. "A jeep driver spotted Sahu lying in an unconscious state on a road in Dhawalpur village in Gariaband. The driver informed the Mainpur police station and Sahu was later admitted to a hospital," said a officer.
Major changes in the Central Reserve Police Force's operational strategies are underway following the recent setback against Naxals, especially in Dantewada where it lost over 75 personnel. The post of CRPF Inspector General of Police (Operations) is likely to be created in every state where the force is deployed for anti-Naxal operations, official sources said.
Four Naxals were killed in an encounter on Thursday with the police in a remote forest area in Gadchiroli district bordering Chhattisgarh, a police officer said.
In the past one-and-a-half years, Naxals have destroyed nearly 250 mobile towers across the country. The incidents have occurred in Bihar, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. But there seems to be a method to the madness. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
In a joint operation led by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the police forces of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh recovered the explosives after they began a 'cordon and search' operation last evening in the jungles of Gwaldand, Maldogri and Jharikheri in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district.
As the government continues to weigh options of fighting Naxalism more effectively, the army has offered to send Colonel-rank officers to the Union home ministry on deputation for advise in anti-Maoist operations.
Altogether seven firearms have been recovered from the encounter site, he said.
A state-of-the-art control room with giant TV screens that will help track the offensive of security forces in Naxal strongholds with satellite imaging and Global Positioning System has been activated at the Central Reserve Police Force headquarters in New Delhi.
The inter-state anti-Naxal operation, along the Jharkhand-West Bengal border, has led to the unearthing of administrative and military units of the Naxals.The operation, which started on Tuesday evening, is a result of several months of planning, and is being lead by over 4,000 central forces including the Special Action Force of the Central Reserve Police Force, besides local police teams of the two states.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the poll bugle in Bihar, where assembly elections are due this year, calling for 'an NDA government, once again', which would protect the state from the 'evil intentions' of the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress combine.
A cache of explosives and weapons was also seized from the encounter site, he added.
Suhas Shetty, a known rowdy sheeter and Hindu activist, was murdered by an unidentified group late on Thursday within the Bajpe police station limits in Mangaluru city.
The recent Central Reserve Police Force encounter in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district is part of the latest plan of the force to conduct "big sweep" operations in uncharted Naxal hotbeds of the country in order to liberate them from the clutches of 'red' ultras.
The Chhattisgarh Police is planning to train a new batch of street dogs for anti-Naxal operations after the canines delivered good results by detecting over 350 Improvised Explosive Devices and landmines in the past two years.
The anti-Naxal operations in Odisha have come to a halt following abduction of two Italian tourists by the Maoists who demanded suspension of offensive against the extremists and release of some of their colleagues besides placing other demands.
1 jawan was injured in a gunbattle with Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district.
For the first time, anti-Naxal forces are to be deployed in Assam and Uttar Pradesh. According to senior Union home ministry officials, 65 underground members of the CPI (Maoist) were arrested in UP between 2005 and August 15 this year.
Anti-landmine vehicles used by security forces in Naxal operations are undergoing major changes in their armour content and ergonomics to withstand huge blasts and minimise loss of troop lives.
Two Border Security Force jawans and a civilian driver were killed when Naxals blew up their vehicles in Maoist-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.
A CRPF officer was on Saturday killed in an encounter with suspected Naxalites in Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh.
'Many of them are mutilated beyond recognition. Every day an encounter takes place.' 'Bastar has been burnt to ash.'
Over 600 bullets and a dozen improvised explosive devices recovered after a gunbattle.
The operation was conducted between June 23 and 25, the police said.
Central Reserve Police Force Deputy Commandant and five-time gallantry medal winner P R Mishra has become the only person from paramilitary forces to have been decorated with a Shaurya Chakra this Independence day for displaying exemplary courage in anti-Naxal operations.
Striking a different note from the government on last week's anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh that left 19 tribals killed, Congress on Tuesday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state for the "botch-up", saying it has resulted in the loss of lives of innocent tribals and minors.
Amid the controversy over the anti-naxal operation in Chhattisgarh in which tribals were suspected to be among the 19 victims, the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry on Tuesday called the offensive "completely unacceptable" and targeted the state's Bharatiya Janata Party government.
As Maoist menace continued to be unabated, the government is all set to launch the much-awaited full-fledged anti-Naxal operations at three different areas, considered tri-junctions of the worst Naxal-affected states.
At least 13 security personnel were killed on Friday when Naxals triggered a blast and then opened fire on a patrol party near Tongada village, bordering Andhra Pradesh, in the Maoist-affected district of Bijapur in Chhattisgarh. The patrol party, comprising 21 police personnel, was returning from Terla village when the rebels unleashed the attack.
Earlier, in a major joint offensive, separate teams of nearly 600 personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) -- an elite unit of Central Reserve Police Force, launched an anti-Naxal operation from three sides towards Elmagunda after getting inputs about a huge gathering of ultras there on Saturday.
He had promised his daughter that he would be there, come what may, a kin said. But fate had a different plan.
A constable was shot dead today and a special police officer was allegedly abducted by the Naxals in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, an official said. A Maoist was also killed in retaliatory fire at a Salwa Judum camp in Cherpal village in the wee hours, he said.
The killing of Naxal leader Vikram Gowda by the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) in Karnataka was a last-resort action during a "chance encounter," according to the state's Internal Security Division DGP Pronab Mohanty. He refuted claims of an ambush, stating that ANF personnel gave Gowda ample opportunity to surrender before firing. The encounter occurred during combing operations in the Udupi district. Gowda had multiple extortion and criminal cases registered against him. The ANF recovered a 9 mm calibre gun from his possession. Following the encounter, combing operations in the forest area have been intensified to apprehend other Naxal members. The DGP also highlighted Karnataka's special surrender policy introduced in 2024, offering a rehabilitation package for Naxalites willing to surrender. The ambulance carrying Gowda's mortal remains overturned near Hebri on Wednesday, but the journey continued after the vehicle was restored to its correct position. Gowda's last rites were conducted on Wednesday afternoon.
The Naxals fled from the spot after a prolonged gunfight.
The incident took place in the morning under Jagargunda police station area when a team of the CRPF's 165th battalion was out on an anti-Maoist operation, a police official said.
