At least six suspected Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Friday, The New Indian Express reported.

One of those killed was allegedly a Maoist platoon commander and had a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma told ANI.

According to a police statement, the gunfight in the Abujhmarh forest area began in the afternoon during a search operation launched by the security forces after receiving intelligence inputs about suspected Maoist activity.

Sharma said the operation had been launched on Thursday evening and had continued “despite the heavy rain”.

“They [security forces] walked on foot for 24 hours continuously, and after that, they achieved this,” he told ANI.

The security personnel recovered weapons such as an AK-47 rifle and a self-loading rifle from the site of the gunfight, Bastar Range Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P told The Indian Express.

Further details cannot be shared as the operation was still on, he added.

More than 400 suspected Maoists have been killed in the Bastar region in 2024-’25, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai had said in June.

Deputy Chief Minister Sharma said on Saturday that more than 1,500 suspected Maoists have been rehabilitated in 2025, while around 1,400 have been arrested. “For the first time, the number of rehabilitation is more than the number of arrests,” he said.

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

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.

The Union government has repeatedly vowed to end Maoism by March 31, 2026.

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