At least 14 Maoist insurgents were killed by Indian security forces in two separate gunfights in the conflict-prone districts of Sukma and Bijapur in southern Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, officials confirmed on Saturday.
According to a police statement and independent media reports, the operations were launched by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and other security units after specific intelligence inputs indicated the presence of armed Maoist cadres in dense forest areas.
The first encounter occurred in a forested area of Sukma district early in the morning, where a DRG team on a search operation was met with hostile fire from Maoist insurgents. Security forces returned fire, leading to the deaths of 12 Maoist cadres.
A separate exchange of gunfire took place around 5 a.m. in Bijapur district, where security personnel again encountered armed rebels. The bodies of two additional Maoist fighters were recovered from the scene, confirming a total of 14 fatalities across both operations.
Officials said that a cache of weapons and ammunition was seized from both encounter sites, including AK-47s, INSAS rifles, self-loading rifles (SLRs), and other arms, underscoring the level of armament held by the insurgents.
The Bastar region of Chhattisgarh has long been a stronghold of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) and its armed wing, the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA). Security forces have been intensifying anti-insurgency operations in the area, with the Union government setting a target to eliminate Maoist violence by March 2026.
Officials have not yet released the identities of the deceased insurgents or confirmed whether senior Maoist commanders were among those killed. Search and combing operations were reported to be ongoing in the surrounding forests at the time of reporting.
