A woman suspected to be a Maoist was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar area on Monday, PTI reported.

The woman, identified as Renuka, alias Chaite alias Saraswati, had a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on her head.

The gunfight broke out around 9 am on Monday in a forest along the border of Dantewada and Bijapur districts, located in the state’s Bastar region, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai was quoted as saying by PTI.

The operation involved officials of the District Reserve Guard, who found the body of a woman after the gunfight stopped, Rai said.

The superintendent of police added that Renuka was a resident of Warangal district in Telangana, and alleged that she was the media chief for the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, which he described as “the strongest formation of Maoists”.

Security forces also recovered an Indian Small Arms System, or INSAS, rifle, other weapons and explosives from the site of the gunfight.

On Saturday, 16 suspected Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in the state’s Sukma district.

Hours later, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated that the Centre has “resolved to eradicate Naxalism” before March 31, 2026. “My appeal to those with arms is that weapons and violence cannot bring change; only peace and development can,” Shah said on social media.

Besides, 50 suspected Maoists, including 14 with a cumulative bounty of Rs 68 lakh on their heads, surrendered before security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Sunday.

A total of 135 suspected Maoists have been killed in gunfights with security personnel 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 Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region 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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