A joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) killed nine Maoists during an ongoing encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on Tuesday, officials confirmed.
The operation was initiated following intelligence reports suggesting the presence of Maoists in the area, according to officials.
Police reported that the encounter started around 10:30 am and is still in progress. “So far, nine Maoists have been killed, and a significant number of weapons, including a Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), a .303 Rifle, and a .315 Bore Rifle, have been recovered from the site,” a police statement said. “All personnel involved in the operation are safe. The search is ongoing, and more information will be provided once the operation concludes,” it added.
Late last month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired an inter-state coordination meeting in Chhattisgarh, focusing on intensified anti-Maoist operations amid ongoing efforts.
From December 2023 to August, 147 Maoists were killed in 104 encounters, with 723 arrests and 622 surrenders, according to government data. The Union government has increased the establishment of forward operating bases (FOBs) in Maoist strongholds to support coordinated intelligence-led operations and assist civic authorities in developing remote villages. Since December last year, 33 FOBs have been established, including four in Sukma, eight in Bijapur, two in Dantewada, four in Narayanpur, and one each in Kanker and Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh.
In August, the government informed Parliament that the geographic spread of Maoist violence has decreased from 126 districts across 10 states in 2013 to 38 districts across nine states in 2024, with incidents of Maoist violence dropping by 73% since 2010.
