Maoist commander Rupi with ₹5 lakh bounty killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker

A woman Maoist commander was killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district on Monday during an ongoing anti-Naxal operation, police said.

The exchange of fire took place in a forested area under the Chhote Bethiya police station limits in the morning when a joint team of security personnel launched a targeted anti-Naxalite operation based on intelligence inputs about Maoist presence.

Officials said the encounter occurred during a combing operation, and after the gunfight, the body of a woman cadre was recovered along with a weapon. She has been identified as Rupi , a member of the Maoists’ Partapur area committee and an Area Committee Member (ACM)-rank cadre .

Subsequent reports confirmed that Rupi was a senior Maoist commander operating in the Bastar region network and carried a ₹5 lakh bounty on her head. She was considered a key operative in sustaining Maoist activity in the region and was part of the broader insurgent structure active in south Chhattisgarh.

Security sources also indicated that she was among the higher-ranking women cadres active in the Kanker–Bastar belt, where security forces have intensified counter-insurgency operations in recent months. Officials described the operation as part of continuing efforts to dismantle remaining Maoist networks following sustained pressure on insurgent leadership across the region.

Authorities said the area remains under surveillance, with search and combing operations still underway to rule out the presence of additional armed cadres.