Security forces eliminated 16 Maoists in an intense encounter in &nbsp;in Chhattisgarh&rsquo;s Sukma and Dantewada districts on Saturday.
The operation, in the Upampalli area under the Keralapal police station jurisdiction, was part of a joint anti-Maoist operation launched by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Sources indicated that several high-profile Maoist leaders were among those killed.
&ldquo;A thorough search will be conducted once the operation concludes, which will provide clarity on the extent of damage inflicted on the Maoists,&rdquo; a police official said. They recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition, including automatic weapons such as INSAS and SLR rifles.
Officials confirmed that the joint DRG-CRPF team moved into the area on March 28, following up on specific intelligence regarding Maoist presence in the region. Intermittent firing between security forces and the insurgents continued into early Saturday morning.
Following the successful operation, search teams have been deployed to comb through the encounter site and the surrounding forested terrain. Authorities stated that a detailed report will be released once the operation concludes.
Sukma, one of the worst Maoist-affected districts in Chhattisgarh&rsquo;s Bastar region, has witnessed multiple violent confrontations between Maoists and security personnel over the years.
The encounter comes a day after a soldier was injured in Narayanpur district due to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast triggered by Maoists.
Additionally, on March 1, two Maoists were gunned down in the Kistaram police station limits of Sukma.
February saw an escalation in anti-Naxal operations in the Bastar region, with at least 40 Maoists neutralized.
On February 9, a record 31 insurgents carrying a combined bounty of ₹1.10 crore were killed in Bijapur.
Other major operations included the killing of a Maoist with an ₹8 lakh bounty in Kanker-Narayanpur on February 3 and eight Naxalites eliminated in Gangalur, Bijapur on February 1.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has previously asserted that the ongoing anti-Naxal operations are in their final phase and that Maoism will be entirely eradicated from the country by March 2026.
On Saturday, he took to social media to praise security forces for their successful operation. "My appeal to those with arms is that weapons and violence cannot bring change; only peace and development can,&rdquo; Shah said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Intermittent firing continued into early Saturday morning

‘High-profile leaders’ neutralized, op recovered large cache of arms including automatic weapons

16 Naxals Killed in Encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma

‘High-profile leaders’ neutralized, op recovered large cache of arms including automatic weapons

March 29, 2025 | 13:46 IST