Raipur
Two Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces near the Chhattisgarh–Telangana border on Thursday morning. The gunfight broke out around 7 am in the forested hills of southern Bijapur district when a team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was conducting a search operation.
Security personnel recovered the bodies of two Maoists from the encounter site in the Pamed police station area. A cache of weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, a 9mm pistol, and a significant quantity of ammunition and explosives, was also seized.
Additional Superintendent of Police Chandrakant Governa confirmed the deaths and stated that intermittent firing continued for over one hour. The operation was launched following intelligence reports regarding the presence of armed cadres belonging to the Pamed Area Committee.
IEDs defused in separate operation
In a separate incident on the same day, a joint team of the DRG, the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) 9th Battalion, and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) defused two powerful Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) near Lankapalli village.
The explosives, weighing between 20 kg and 30 kg, were detected during a demining exercise on a dirt road under the Ilmidi police station limits. Police officials stated that the Naxalites had planted the IEDs using a command switch system, with wires extending over 50 metres, intended to target large security vehicles.
The encounter follows a series of explosions on 25 January at Karregutta hills, where 11 security personnel, including 10 DRG jawans and one CoBRA sub-inspector, were injured in six IED blasts.
With Thursday’s encounter, the number of Naxalites killed in the state this year has risen to 22. Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) P Sundarraj reiterated the commitment of the forces to eliminate Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) by the March 2026 deadline set by the Union Government.
