
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday praised security personnel after they killed 16 Naxalites in an encounter along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border in the Gariaband district.
"Near the Kulhadi Ghat under the Mainpur police station of the Gariaband district, our security forces had an encounter with Maoists. So far, more than a dozen Maoists have been killed. There have been two major encounters with Naxalites within a week. Our soldiers have achieved huge success, and our government is working to end the Naxalism," Sai said.
Maoism is like cancer, and we will succeed in destroying it completely, he asserted, adding his government will fulfil the resolution of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
I salute the courage of our security force personnel and praise them, he added. Naxalism is taking its last breath, and we will end it by March 31, 2026, the Chief Minister vowed.
16 Naxalites, including key Maoists, killed in encounter
At least 16 Naxalites, including a senior cadre, were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Gariaband district.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Maoists were killed in a joint operation by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), SoG Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police along the interstate border.
Naxalism is breathing its last: Shah
He said that with the resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of the security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today.
"Another mighty blow to Naxalism. Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat. The CRPF, SoG Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police neutralised 14 Naxalites in a joint operation along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border," he said in a post on X.
According to the police, two women Naxalites were killed, and a CoBRA jawan was injured in an encounter during the joint operation earlier on Monday.
An official said a fresh exchange of fire took place late on Monday night and early Tuesday morning in a forest under the Mainpur police station area along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border, in which 12 more Naxalites were gunned down.
Maoist, carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore, killed
Gariaband Superintendent of Police Nikhil Rakhecha, in a statement, said that of the deceased, one has been identified as Jairam alias Chalpati, a central committee member of Maoist, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore.
He said the identity of the remaining killed cadres was yet to be ascertained. The official said intermittent exchange of fire was still underway in the area, and the number of Maoist casualties may increase.
(With agencies inputs)