In a fresh offensive against Maoists, security forces killed at least 30 members of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist in two separate encounters in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Thursday, officials said.
While 26 Maoists were killed in Bijapur district, four Maoists were gunned down in Kanker by a joint team of the Border Security Force and District Reserve Guard personnel of the state police.
A police jawan was also killed in the encounter in Bijapur, the officials said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the security forces have achieved another big success in their march to make the country Maoist-free with the two encounters.
"The Modi government is moving forward with a ruthless approach against Naxalites and is adopting a zero tolerance policy against those Naxalites who are not surrendering despite all the facilities being offered to them, ranging from surrender to inclusion. The country is going to be Naxal-free by March 31 next year," Shah wrote on 'X' in Hindi.
An official said a gunfight broke out around 7 am in a forest along the border of Bijapur and Dantewada districts when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Maoist operation in Gangaloor police station area in Bijapur.
The bodies of 26 Maoists besides firearms and explosives were recovered from the spot, inspector general of police, Bastar Range Sundarraj P told PTI.
A jawan of the DRG unit was also killed in the gunfight, he said.
Another encounter took place in the morning in a forest along the border of Kanker and Narayanpur districts when a joint team of the DRG and BSF was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Kanker Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elesela said.
The bodies of four Maoists and automatic weapons were recovered following the action, he said.
Search operations were underway at both the encounter sites, police said.
With the latest action, 113 Maoists have been killed in encounters in the state so far this year. Of them, 97 were eliminated in the Bastar division comprising seven districts including Bijapur and Kanker.
According to a statement issued by the Union home ministry in New Delhi, as many as 104 Maoists were arrested in different parts of the country and 164 have surrendered in 2025 so far.
In 2024, 290 Maoists were neutralized, 1,090 were arrested, and 881 surrendered. A total of 15 top Naxal leaders have been neutralized so far.
Between 2004 and 2014, there were a total of 16,463 incidents of Maoist violence.
However, during the tenure of the Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2024, the number of violent incidents decreased by 53 percent, dropping to 7,744, the statement said.
Similarly, the number of causalities of security forces decreased by 73 percent, from 1,851 to 509, and the number of civilian causalities decreased by 70 percent, dropping from 4,766 to 1,495.
In 2014, there were a total of 66 fortified police stations, but under the Modi government's tenure their number has increased to 612, the statement said.
Similarly, in 2014, 126 districts in the country were affected by Maoist menace, but by 2024, the number of such districts has drastically reduced to only 12.
In the past five years, a total of 302 new security camps and 68 night landing helipads have been established by the government, the statement said.
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