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.
Eight Naxalites and a jawan of the Special Task Force (STF) were killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Saturday, police said.
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah has declared that Chhattisgarh will be free from the menace of Naxalism by March 31, 2026. He stated that the Centre and the state government are committed to eradicating Naxalism, highlighting the significant achievements of the Chhattisgarh police in the last year. Shah also appealed to Naxalites to surrender and join the mainstream, emphasizing the government's rehabilitation policy. He further praised the Chhattisgarh police's efforts in curbing organized crime and narcotics.
Terming Naxals the biggest human rights violators, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said security forces have been carrying out 'offensive operations' instead of defensive against the insurgents and have achieved big successes in recent times.
The police on Saturday claimed to have gunned down eight Maoists during an encounter in forests near Kutul-Farasbeda and Kodtameta villages in the district.
As many as 14 Maoists were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Friday, a senior police official said. However, ANI has put the toll at 30.
Traditional medicine practitioner Hemchand Manjhi, renowned for his stellar work from a remote village in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district, on Monday said he will return his Padma Shri award, after he received threats from Naxalites.
Shivkumar Gautam, the alleged main shooter in the Baba Siddique murder case, remained at the spot for 20 minutes after the Nationalist Congress Party leader was gunned down on October 12, an official said on Thursday.
Hidma Madavi, who had a Rs 12 lakh reward on his head, was arrested without a single bullet being fired.
Six Naxalites, including "deputy commander" Punem Nagesh, his wife, and another female cadre, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Wednesday, a police officer said.
Nine Naxalites, including three women, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in a forest along the border of Narayanpur and Kanker districts in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, state's Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said.
Altogether seven firearms have been recovered from the encounter site, he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday appealed to Naxals to give up violence, lay down arms and surrender, saying an all-out operation will otherwise be carried out against them.
Naxalites in Chhattisgarh are interfering in the day-to-day life of tribals, forcing them to support the movement, indulge in human trafficking and enroll minors in their organisation, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has said.
The security forces had received inputs about the presence of cadres belonging to company no. 5 of Maoists in Bhomra, Hurtarai and Michchebeda villages, he said.
'The Naxalite strategy is to periodically attack police forces to provoke a reaction.' 'Once the security forces over-react and cause suffering to innocents by high-handed actions, the people will be alienated and support the revolution.' 'This appears to be the Naxalites' strategy and hence, their recent brutal killings of policemen,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Maoist blast took place around 3 pm near Timmapuram village between Silger and Tekalgudem camps of security forces, over 400 km from the state capital Raipur.
Disruption of work, levy to insurgents, targeting of communications and security concerns stall development.
In a statement sent to select media houses on Wednesday, the CPI-Maoists have declared that they would "rise up as a collective fist to drive out MNCs" from the country. The statement also reiterates that their mission is to wipe away the "treacherous rotten regimes" at the Centre and the states.
Two Naxalites, including a hardcore activist involved in the killing of a top police officer, were arrested alongwith 100 detonators at Dudi village in Naxal-hit Khunti district of Jharkhand on Wednesday.
A cache of explosives and weapons was also seized from the encounter site, he added.
At least eight Naxalites were killed in an encounter with Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Jharkhand's Garwah district, official sources said. Reports from the CRPF headquarters said that eight Naxalites were killed in an encounter between the Naxals and the 13th battalion of the CRPF late on Monday night in Garwah district, official sources said.A huge quantity of arms and ammunition, including 20 quintal of gelatin explosive, were recovered from them.
Among the three slain personnel, two belonged to the CoBRA's 201st battalion and one to the CRPF's 150th battalion, a senior police officer said.
Around 15 Naxalites were possibly killed when CRPF personnel retaliated during the Maoist ambush in a remote area of Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district that left 26 jawans of the force dead, a top state police official said on Wednesday.
Armed Naxalites raided Banshipur railway station in Patna-Kiul section of the east-central Railway and burnt a cabin room, in Bihar's Lakhisarai district around midnight, official sources said.
Among other things, the states will exchange intelligence on the movement and activities of naxalite outfits, UP Director General of Police V K V Nair said in Varanasi.
Brigadier Basant Kumar Ponwar, the army's counter-Naxalite expert and director of Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College, tells R Krishna Das that this is the right time to destroy the rebels militarily and dismantle their network.
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Three policemen were also killed in the battle between the police and the Naxals since the landmine blast on Sunday.
The incident comes amid accusations by the opposition BJP of "targeted killings" of its workers in the run up to the polls.
Deva recently replaced Hidma as commander of the Maoists' battalion no. 1, the IG added.
Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh has alleged that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh won the last two assembly elections by using money received from Naxalites.
'There are no quick fixes... The security forces can kill terrorists, but terrorism will be killed only by the people,' says Lieutenant General V G Patankar (retd).
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