In a major strike against Left-wing extremism, three Maoists, including two women, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Sunday.
Among those killed was Janmilitia commander and sniper specialist Madvi Deva, a wanted Maoist carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh. The other two also carried rewards of Rs 5 lakh each.
The encounter took place in the Bhejji police station limits, where joint teams of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters, and the CRPF recovered a .303 rifle, a BGL grenade launcher, and a large quantity of ammunition from the spot.
Acting on specific intelligence about the Maoist movement along the Bhejji-Chintagufa border on the night of November 16, the DRG launched a search operation.
As the team reached the dense Tumalpad forest on Sunday morning, the Maoists opened fire, triggering a prolonged gun battle. Security forces retaliated and intermittent firing continued for several hours before the bodies of the three Maoists were recovered during a combing operation.
Bastar Range IG Sundarraj P said that 233 Maoists have been killed in the Bastar Range so far in 2025 and asserted that Naxalism would soon be eradicated.
The Sukma encounter comes close on the heels of a major operation in Bijapur district on November 11, where six Maoists, including three women, were killed in the National Park area. Those killed included Buchanna, the in-charge of the Maddeed Area Committee, and Urmila, wife of top Maoist commander Paparao, who once again managed to escape. The crackdown has also seen the surrender of Kamalu, the in-charge of the Bhairamgarh Area Committee, and Dinesh Modiyam, who headed the Gangalore Area Committee. With Buchanna's death, all three area committees: Bhairamgarh, Gangalore, and Maddeed now stand leaderless, indicating a shrinking Maoist footprint in the district.
According to officials, Maoist presence is now limited to just one or two locations in the region. This intensification of operations aligns with Union Home Minister Amit Shah's deadline to have a Maoist-free country by March 31, 2026, a target that has increased pressure on security forces across central India.
Yet the ground reality remains complex.
Around 300 hardcore Maoist fighters continue to operate in the deep forests of South Bastar, led by four of the most notorious insurgent commanders Devji, Paparao, Hidma, and Ganesh Uikey each carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore. While the North Sub-Zonal Bureau of the Maoist movement has largely collapsed, the South Sub-Zonal Bureau, covering West Bastar, South Bastar, and the treacherous Darbha region, remains defiant.
These four commanders and their estimated 300 fighters have fortified their last strongholds, resisting the state's advances.
As Chhattisgarh marks 25 years of statehood, the numbers reveal the staggering cost of this decades-long conflict: 3,404 armed encounters, 1,541 Maoists killed, 1,315 security personnel killed in the line of duty, and 1,817 civilian deaths.
With recent encounters, surrenders, and shrinking Maoist territories suggesting a turning point, officials believe the movement is closer to collapse than ever before.
But until the four core commanders are neutralized, the battle for Bastar's final strongholds will remain the defining challenge in India's long war against Maoists.
