In Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, six more Naxalite bodies were recovered following a clash with security forces, bringing the total number of Naxalites killed in the encounter to 18, officials reported on Thursday. Three personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a state police unit, also lost their lives in the gunfight that occurred on Wednesday. During a prolonged exchange of fire lasting approximately 12 hours, 12 Naxalites were recovered by late Wednesday evening, said Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P. An additional six bodies were found during continued searches by Thursday morning. The operation to locate Naxalites remains ongoing.

The operation involved DRG units from Dantewada and Bijapur, the Special Task Force of the state police, and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), an elite CRPF unit. It was launched based on intelligence about the presence of the West Bastar Division and PLGA Company No. 2 of Maoists in the region.

IG Sundarraj P said, "Our forces responded bravely to the Maoists’ firing, but tragically, three of our DRG personnel from Bijapur were martyred." The IG paid tribute to the three deceased jawans at Bijapur Police Lines, in the presence of their families, local officials, and residents. The three killed personnel—Head Constable Monu Vadadi, Constable Dukaru Gonde, and Jawan Ramesh Sodhi—were all residents of Bijapur. Their bodies were sent to their hometowns following the tribute ceremony. Two other DRG personnel sustained injuries in the incident.

Among the killed Naxalites, one has been identified as Modiyami Vella, a commander of PLGA Company No. 2. Vella was involved in several deadly attacks on security forces, including the 2020 Minpa ambush in Sukma, which claimed 17 lives, and the 2021 Tekalgudem attack in Bijapur, which killed 22 personnel. He carried a bounty of ₹8 lakh. Authorities recovered a Light Machine Gun, Single Loading Rifles (SLRs), INSAS rifles, .303 rifles, and other weapons and ammunition from the site.

This year alone, 281 Naxalites have been killed in Chhattisgarh, including 252 in the Bastar division (covering seven districts such as Bijapur and Dantewada), 27 in Gariaband (Raipur division), and 2 in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki (Durg division). Meanwhile, 23 security personnel have died in Maoist-related violence across the state so far in 2025. The central government has set a target to completely eliminate Left-Wing Extremism in the state by March 31, 2026.