Chhattisgarh: Security forces on Saturday killed 14 Naxalites, including two wanted senior cadres, in separate encounters in Sukma and Bijapur districts of the Bastar region, officials said.
According to senior officials in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, 12 Naxalites were neutralised during an exchange of fire with security forces in Sukma district. Among those killed was Mangtu, a divisional committee member (DVCM) who was carrying a reward on his head.
In a separate incident in Bijapur district, the bodies of two Maoist cadres, including Hunga Madkam, were recovered from the forests near Gaganpalli village under the Basaguda area. Security personnel also seized one self-loading rifle (SLR) and a 12-bore rifle from the spot, officials said.
A senior police officer said the Sukma encounter took place in the southern part of the district when a team of security forces was conducting an anti-Naxalite operation based on specific intelligence inputs. Heavy firing was reported during the operation, leading to the killing of multiple Maoists.
In Bijapur, the gunfight erupted around 5 am when a team of the District Reserve Guard, a specialised unit of the state police, was carrying out a similar operation in the forested areas of the district’s southern region, another official said.
Intermittent firing was continuing in the area when the last reports were received, and search operations were underway to ascertain further details, the officials added.
Chhattisgarh has witnessed a sustained offensive against Left Wing Extremism over the past year. Official data shows that 285 Naxalites were killed in separate encounters with security forces across the state in 2025.
