Chhattisgarh Encounter: 12 Maoists, 3 DRG Personnel Killed in Major Anti-Maoist Operation

At least 12 Maoists and three District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel were killed on Monday in a major anti-Maoist operation underway in the West Bastar Division of Chhattisgarh, along the Bijapur–Dantewada border, officials confirmed.

The encounter began around 9 am after a joint team of Dantewada–Bijapur DRG, Special Task Force (STF), CRPF and CoBRA commandos launched a search operation in the dense forest belt. Intermittent gunfire continued for hours, during which another jawan sustained injuries.

Bijapur SP Jitendra Yadav described the mission as being in a “decisive phase”, adding that an “aggressive offensive” against Maoist groups is progressing. Reinforcement teams have been deployed, and the entire area has been sealed.

Security forces recovered the bodies of 12 Maoist cadres along with SLRs, .303 rifles and other weapons. The identities of those killed are yet to be confirmed.

The three DRG personnel who lost their lives were head constable Monu Vadadi and constables Dukaru Gonde and Ramesh Sodi. Injured jawan Somdev Yadav has received first aid and is reported to be out of danger.

With the latest operation, the number of Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh this year has climbed to 270—241 of them in the Bastar region alone. Twenty-seven were killed in Gariaband (Raipur division) and two in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki (Durg division).

Bastar Range IG Sundarraj P said the anti-Maoist campaign remains “intense and strategically driven” and noted that further information will be released once the ongoing operation concludes.