12 Naxals, 3 DRG personnel killed in Bijapur encounter as maoist toll reaches 275 this year

Twelve Naxalites and three personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) were killed on Wednesday in a fierce encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, officials said. Two other DRG jawans sustained injuries, even as the anti-Naxal operation continued late into the evening.

The exchange of fire began in a forested patch along the Bijapur–Dantewada border when a joint team of security forces launched an operation based on intelligence inputs, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj Pattilingam said.

Personnel from the DRG units of Bijapur and Dantewada, the Special Task Force (STF) of the state police, and the elite CoBRA unit of the CRPF were part of the operation. The officer said that the bodies of 12 Naxalites had been recovered so far, though their identities were yet to be confirmed.

Security forces also recovered Single Loading Rifles (SLRs), Insas rifles, .303 rifles, and other arms and ammunition from the site.

IGP Pattilingam said Head Constable Monu Vadadi, Constable Dukaru Gonde, and jawan Ramesh Sodhi of the DRG Bijapur were martyred in the encounter. The two injured DRG personnel were given first aid and are out of danger. Arrangements are being made for their further medical treatment, he added.

Reinforcement teams were rushed to the area, which falls under the West Bastar Division. A search operation was still underway, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Yadav said.

With Wednesday’s encounter, the number of Naxalites killed in Chhattisgarh this year has risen to 275. Of these, 246 were neutralised in the Bastar division, which comprises seven districts, including Bijapur and Dantewada. Another 27 were gunned down in Gariaband district in the Raipur division, while two were eliminated in the Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district of the Durg division.

The Union government has set March 31, 2026, as the deadline for the complete eradication of Left-Wing Extremism, and intensified operations have been underway across affected regions.