Bijapur, May 15 :
The “mirage of invincibility” that Maoists carried has been “completely destroyed” and security forces will “surely” wipe out this insurgency by March 31, 2026, top security officers said on Wednesday as they briefed about the massive 21-day anti-Naxal operations around Karregutta hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.
The offensive, launched on 21 April from Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh, involved around 20,000 personnel and was led by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) along with Chhattisgarh Police. The media briefing here was presided over by DG CRPF Gyanendra Pratap Singh and DG Chhattisgarh Police Arun Dev Gautam.
They said that 31 Maoists were killed in the massive operation, which was called off on May 11.
Giving details, SP Bijapur, Jitendra Kumar Yadav said in 21 encounters, 31 Maoists, including 16 women cadres, were killed and security forces recovered as many as 35 weapons, including SLR, INSAS and other automatic and semiautomatic weapons.
Among the slain, 28 Maoists have been identified, he said. All of them carried a cumulative prize money of Rs 1.72 crore,” the officer added. “We destroyed 214 Naxal hideouts. While searching through them and other locations, we recovered 450 IEDs, 818 BGL (Barrel Grenade Launchers) shells, 899 Cordtex detonators, and a massive quantity of explosives. Besides, we also recovered around 12,000 kg of food items,” the SP said.
The SP said they have inputs that several senior Maoists have either been killed or are seriously injured during the three-week mega operation. “Due to the challenges presented by the topography, security forces have not been able to recover all the dead bodies of the slain Maoists,” he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said multiple times over the last few months that the Naxalites will be eradicated by March 31, 2026.
Referring to Shah’s deadline, Director General CRPF GP Singh said security forces are undertaking “relentless and ruthless” operations to ensure that Naxalism is eliminated by the given date.
Singh said the anti-Naxal operation, which started in 2014, has been intensified and made more focused since 2019, with central paramilitary forces working “shoulder to shoulder” with state police with a commitment to stamp out Naxalism.
Highlighting the effects of the operations on the ground, he said that in 2014, the number of the most Naxal-affected districts was 35, which has reduced to six in 2025 so far, while the number of Naxal-affected districts has come down from 126 to 18 during the period.
“The number of violent incidents in 2014 was 1,080, which has come down to 374 in 2024. The number of security personnel killed in Naxal violence in 2014 was 287, which has dipped to 19 in 2024. The number of Naxals eliminated during the period has reached 2089,” he said.
As many as 928 Naxals have surrendered before security forces in 2024, while another 718 Maoists have surrendered so far this year, he said.
Security forces have been trying to drive out Naxals from their hideouts and “fill the vacuum”. In such areas, 320 new security camps have been established so far, besides 68 night landing helipads.
“We are committed to eliminate Naxalism by March 31, 2026 through relentless and ruthless operations,” he said.
