At least 16 suspected Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday morning, ANI reported.

Among those killed was Jayram alias Chalapathi, a member of the Maoists’ central committee who was carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore, said Gariaband Superintendent of Police Nikhil Rakhecha.

The gunfight took place in the Kulhadighat area of the Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve, close to Chhattisgarh’s border with Odisha’s Nuapada district, The Indian Express reported.

It was a joint operation by the police forces of Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

The Maoist casualties could be more, The Indian Express quoted the Odisha Police as saying. “A massive search operation is underway…in the area and the joint operations against Maoists will continue,” the newspaper quoted an unidentified senior police officer as saying.

The security forces seized arms and ammunition, including “automatic weapons like SLR Rifle”, the police said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the operation marked a “major success towards building a Naxal-free” India. “With our resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of our security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today,” Shah said.

Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said the death of Jayram marked a “big success” for the police. “By March 2026, Naxalism will be completely eradicated not only from Chhattisgarh but from the whole of India,” ANI quoted Sharma as saying.

This came a day after two suspected Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district on Monday. A member of the Central Reserve Police Force also suffered a minor injury, The Hindu reported.

The two women who were killed in Gariaband belonged to the Sonabeda-Dharambandha Committee of the Maoists, officials said

The gunfight, which started at 8 am, also took place in the Udanti Sitanadi Tiger Reserve near the state’s border with Odisha. The location was about 70 km from the Gariaband district headquarters.

The joint operation on Monday was carried out by the Gariaband Police, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action and Odisha’s Special Operation Group.

The Maoists attacked the security forces with an automatic weapon and barrel grenade launchers, Rakhecha told The Indian Express. “They had planted four IEDs [improvised explosive devices], which we detected and defused,” he said.

This took the number of suspected Maoists killed in gunfights in Chhattisgarh this year to about 40.

Twelve of these suspected Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on January 16.

Nine security personnel and a civilian have also died this year.

In 2024, 217 suspected Maoists were killed by security forces.

Malini Subramaniam has reported for Scroll that while many of those killed in Bastar in 2024 were declared by the police to be reward-carrying Maoists, several families dispute the claim. The families claim that the persons killed were civilians.

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