New Delhi:

A Maoist carrying a Rs 1 crore bounty was among 14 killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district last night with Union Home Minister Amit Shah calling the operation a “major success”.

Jayaram Reddy, a senior Maoist leader also known as Chalapati, was killed in the exchange of fire that took place in a forest along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border.

A joint team of security personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), CoBRA from Chhattisgarh and Special Operation Group (SOG) from Odisha were involved in the operation.

The operation was launched based on intelligence about the presence of Maoists in the Kularighat reserve forest of Chhattisgarh, just five kilometres from the border of Odisha’s Nuapada district.

A large cache of firearms, ammunition and IEDs, including a self-loading rifle, were recovered from the encounter site, an official said. A massive search operation is underway in the area.

Amit Shah On Maoist Encounter

Amit Shah, who has vowed to eradicate Maoists by March 2026, called the encounter “another mighty blow to Naxalism”.

“Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat. The CRPF, SoG Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police neutralised 14 Naxalites in a joint operation along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border,” he posted on X.

Another mighty blow to Naxalism. Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat. The CRPF, SoG Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police neutralised 14 Naxalites in a joint operation along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. With our resolve for a Naxal-free…

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) January 21, 2025

“With our resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of our security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today,” Mr Shah added.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai also praised the security forces and said that under the double-engine government (the BJP government at the Centre and the state), Chhattisgarh will get rid of the Maoists by March 2026.

The security forces have been “continuously achieving success” and “moving rapidly” towards fulfilling the target, he said.

“This success of the soldiers is commendable. I salute their bravery,” Mr Sai posted on X.

About 40 Maoists have so far been killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh this year.

Chalapati: The Senior Maoist Killed In Encounter

Chalapati, who was a resident of Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor, was a senior member of the central committee of the Maoists, which is the highest decision-making body within the group. He was known for his activities in the dense forests of Abujhmad in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar.

Aged around 60, he relocated his base a few months ago due to the increasing frequency of encounters in the Abujhmad area and shifted near the Odisha border, seeking a safer operational zone, sources said.

Chalapati played a key role in strategizing and leading operations for the Maoists.

His security detail consisted of 8 to 10 personal guards.

Chalapati, who carried a reward of Rs 1 crore for information leading to his capture, was considered a high-value target by security forces.

Over 200 Maoists Killed In 2024

More than 200 Maoists were killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh in 2024. Among 219 Maoists killed last year, 217 were from the Bastar region, which comprises Bastar, Dantewada, Kanker, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Sukma districts.

Over 800 Maoists were also arrested, while about 802 laid down their arms.

About 18 security personnel lost their lives in the fight against Maoists in 2024, while the number of civilians killed in Maoist violence stood at 65.

New Delhi:

Facing tough action from the security forces, the Maoists are making efforts to seep into new areas along inter-state borders but without any notable success, the latest report from the Union Home Ministry has said.

The government’s multipronged approach — anti-Naxal operations by paramilitary and state police and simultaneous development initiatives in Maoist-affected areas — has resulted in a 48 per cent reduction in violent incidents, from 1,136 in 2013 to 594 in 2023, the report said.

A 65 per cent reduction was also noticed in the deaths of civilians and security forces, which came down from 397 to 138 in 2023 as compared to 2013, it said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the country would be free of Maoism by March 31, 2026.

The geographical spread of Left-Wing Extremist (LWE) violence has shrunk considerably. In 2023, 171 police stations in 42 districts reported such incidents, compared to 328 police stations in 76 districts in 2013, the MHA report said.

“The arc of violence has been considerably restricted with just 25 districts accounting 91 per cent of the LWE violence,” it said.

According to the ministry’s annual report 2023-24, the CPI (Maoist) continues to be the most potent among the various LWE outfits in the country, accounting for more than 90 per cent of total violent incidents and 95 per cent of resultant deaths.

“Amidst increasing reverses, the CPI (Maoist) has been making efforts to expand to new areas along inter-state borders, albeit without any significant success,” the report said.

They wish to keep the population in their areas of influence marginalized to perpetuate their outdated ideology, it said.

“Consequently, the process of development has been set back by decades in many parts of the country under LWE influence,” it said.

Various measures adopted by (state) governments and the developmental outreach by the Union government have seen an increasingly large number of LWE cadres shunning the path of violence and returning to the mainstream.

Continued operations and crackdowns in the “core Maoists’ areas” have slightly increased the number of resultant deaths and casualties to security forces when compared with the corresponding period in 2022, the report said.

Noting that improvised explosive devices cause the majority of casualties to security forces in anti-LWE operations, the Home Ministry issued a Standard Operating Procedure to promote best practices in IED management besides putting in place extensive counter-IED capacity building of CAPFs and state police forces, it said.

“During the first half of 2024, the LWE situation has witnessed quantum positive jump (1.7 times) in security forces-initiated operations (59 to 103), which have consequently resulted in a more than five-fold increase in the neutralization of Maoists (30 to 159) as compared to the corresponding period of 2023,” the report said.

The overall improvement in the LWE scenario can be attributed to a greater presence and increased capacity of the security forces across the LWE affected states, better operational strategy and better monitoring of development schemes, it said.

In addition, beefing up intelligence coordination has also played a major role in planning action against the Naxals.

Round-the-clock intelligence sharing through Multi Agency Centre (MAC) at the Central level and State Multi Agency Centre (SMAC) at the state level, setting up of Joint Command and Control Centre at Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh) and Gaya (Bihar), and strengthening of technical and human intelligence have helped in action against Naxals, the report said.

Besides, thrust on the generation of real-time intelligence and creation as well as strengthening of State Intelligence Bureaus (SIBs) in the LWE affected states for which central assistance is provided through the SIS have also helped security forces take action against Naxals, it added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Narayanpur:

 District Reserve Guard (DRG) head constable was killed in an encounter with Naxalites in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Wednesday, a senior police official said.

The gunfight broke out at around 1 pm in the forest on the border of Sonpur and Kohkameta police station areas in Abujhmad when a joint team of security personnel was conducting an anti-Naxal operation, he said.

District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Border Security Force personnel were involved in the operation launched on Tuesday, the official said.

The intermittent exchange of fire lasted till late evening, he said.

“Birendra Kumar Sori (36), head constable of DRG Narayanpur, was killed in the exchange of fire”, he said.

Sori had joined the Narayanpur district police as a constable in 2010. He was promoted to the post of head constable in 2018 for displaying bravery in the anti-Naxal operation, the official said.

The body of the jawan was being shifted out of the forest, he said, adding that a search operation was still underway.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the government has taken decisive steps to tackle Maoism and the country will be free of the problem in the next two to three years.

In an exclusive interview with news agency ANI, Amit Shah said that efforts made by the BJP-led government has led to welfare schemes reaching those tribal areas which had remained bereft of them.

He said Jharkhand, Bihar, Telangana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are completely free of Maoism and the problem persists in three-four districts of Chhattisgarh.

“I think that in the next 2-3 years, the country will be completely free of Naxal issue. After the BJP government came to power in Chhattisgarh, within just 4.5 months, 112 naxals have been neutralised, around 375 have surrendered and 153 have been arrested…On the contrary, Congress says that fake encounters are being done,” he said.

Asked about his remark that the BJP is getting 270 seats after four phases of Lok Sabha polls, Amit Shah said he believes that elections and the results of elections have great importance.

“Whatever government is elected, it should get support from every part of the country and the government should be stable and have a full majority…I believe that the opposition, as usual, has tried to politicise our ‘400 paar slogan’, which is their short-sightedness. Stable governments give strength to the country, help in taking decisive steps, providing welfare to the poor, crushing internal security threats like terrorism, Naxalism and in changing the country’s agenda and the country’s position in the world,” he said.

He slammed the opposition parties for trying to mislead people over BJP’s ‘400 paar’ slogan for the party-led NDA.

“…It has been very clearly explained that if our aim was to remove reservation, we would have the majority for 10 years, but we did not do that. As far as reservation for Muslims is concerned, I am still of the opinion that there should be no reservation in this country on the basis of religion, it is not the scheme of the Constitution, the Constitution does not agree with it. Bharatiya Janata Party will not provide reservation on the basis of religion.”

On the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), he said it is mentioned in the party’s manifesto for Lok Sabha polls.

“This is certainly an important issue in our ‘Sankalp Patra’. We will bring UCC…We also want to bring ‘One Nation, One Election’. This too should be discussed. One of our important poll issues is that in the days to come, we will not allow personal laws to come,” he said.

He dismissed apprehension in sections of Western media about India heading towards autocracy if BJP gets a large number of seats in the Lok Sabha polls.

“Friends abroad need not worry so much about us. Our country is mature enough, our voters are mature enough. There have been several changes in the government in this country without the spilling of even one drop of blood…Autocracy can never come to our country. Our Constitution has provided for such a beautiful balance of power that autocracy can never come here,” he said.

He targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the context of Congress guarantees. Amit Shah said he had recently visited Congress-ruled Telangana and women were still awaiting their Rs 12,000, farmers were waiting for waiving of Rs 2 Lakh loan and young girls for their scooties.

“I called it ‘Chinese guarantee’ on the basis of their durability…I was in Telangana recently. Women there are still awaiting their Rs 12,000. Farmers there are waiting for the waiving off Rs 2 Lakh loan. The young girls are waiting for their scooties…This was promised by Rahul Gandhi, it was his guarantee. Look for Rahul Gandhi…That is why I say that those guarantees hold no meaning. They say that during elections and then forget about it,” Shah said.

Four phases of Lok Sabha polls have been held and the voting in all seven phases will conclude on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ahmedabad:

If voted to office for a third term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will completely eliminate Naxalism from the country within two years, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted on Tuesday.

Amit Shah claimed the BJP and its NDA allies are winning at least 100 seats in the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections (covering 190 constituencies) which have concluded and added “BJP’s chariot is moving towards achieving the target of 400-plus seats”.

Addressing a poll rally in Ahmedabad city’s Naroda area, Amit Shah said before the BJP came to power at the Centre, Naxalites were “dreaming about creating a red corridor from Pashupatinath in Nepal till Tirupati” in Andhra Pradesh, but their activities are now confined to just parts of Chhattisgarh.

During the last five years, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have become free from the Naxal menace, noted the senior BJP leader.

“Naxalites still exist in some parts of Chhattisgarh. The BJP has formed a government in that state recently. Just today (Tuesday), the Chhattisgarh police eliminated nine Naxalites. Give a third term to PM Modi and I assure you that Modiji will eliminate Naxalism completely from the country in two years,” declared Amit Shah.

Referring to the BJP’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls, Amit Shah said the Modi government will provide free healthcare to every individual above 70 years of age under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

“Those above 70 years of age, whether crorepati or roadpati (rich or poor), won’t have to spend a rupee on medical treatment if PM Modi wins a third term,” the Union minister told the gathering.

He underscored that though former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was an economist, he could not improve India’s ranking in the world economy despite being in power for 10 years (2004-14).

“The country’s economy remained on the 11th spot during Singh’s ten-year tenure. It was PM Modi who turned our country into the fifth largest economy. Just give him a third term and he will take our economy to the third spot,” said Amit Shah.

He alleged that instead of functioning as a constructive opposition, the Congress always opposed pro-people projects in Gujarat, be it BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System), metro rail or Sabarmati Riverfront.

Amit Shah addressed the rally in support of BJP candidate from the Ahmedabad-East Lok Sabha seat, Hasmukh Patel.

Voting on 25 Lok Sabha seats (BJP candidate from Surat has been elected unopposed) in Gujarat will take place on May 7 in a single phase.

Amit Shah is the BJP candidate from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat, from where he is seeking a second term.

In 2019, the BJP had won all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, the home state of PM Modi. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)