In a major anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarhs Gariaband district, security forces killed 10 Maoist cadres, including a senior Central Committee member, Modem Balkrishna, who carried a bounty of ₹1 crore. Balkrishna, also known by aliases such as Manoj and Bhaskar, had been involved in significant incidents, including the murders of former Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Alimineti Madhava Reddy and Hyderabad DIG K S Vyas. The encounter took place on Thursday in the forests under the jurisdiction of Mainpur police station, specifically in the Rajadera-Matal hills.

The operation was a coordinated effort involving Chhattisgarh Police, the Special Task Force, the CoBRA battalion, and other central security forces. The Maoists killed also included two Odisha State Committee members of the banned CPI (Maoist), Pramod alias Pandu and Vimal alias Manganna. Security forces recovered ten weapons like AK-47s, SLRs, and INSAS rifles from the encounter site.

According to Additional Director General of Police (Naxal operations) Vivekanand Sinha, this is a significant achievement that will have a major impact on curbing Maoist activities in Gariaband and neighboring districts like Dhamtari. The joint efforts of the police, CRPF, ITBP, and BSF are focused on completely eradicating Naxalism from the region. This encounter is also expected to encourage more Maoists to surrender in the coming days, helping security forces gain crucial intelligence on their operations. This development is part of a sustained campaign where over 240 Maoists have been neutralized in Chhattisgarh this year, with the bastion of bastar districts witnessing most of the encounters. The government remains committed to eliminating Maoist influence from the state well before the target deadline of March 2026.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from News Arena India.