2 more Naxalites killed on second day of operation in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur; toll rises to 6

Bijapur: A day after four Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, two more Maoist cadres were neutralised during the same operation in the region on Sunday, said police.

The latest exchange of fire occurred in the morning in the forested hills of the district’s north-western region, where a joint team of security forces has been conducting an anti-Naxalite operation, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Yadav said.

Four Maoists were killed during the same operation on Saturday. They were identified as senior cadre Dilip Vedja, who was a divisional committee member, area committee members Madvi Kosa and Lakkhi Madkam, and party member Radha Metta.

All four were active in the National Park Area Committee of the Maoists, the SP said.

The identity of the two Maoists killed on Sunday is yet to be ascertained, he added.

Personnel from the Special Task Force (STF) and District Reserve Guard (DRG), both police units, and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), an elite group of the CRPF, are involved in the operation.

The operation was launched on Saturday following specific intelligence about the presence of Vedja and other armed cadres in the area.

Six weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, an INSAS rifle, a carbine and a .303 rifle, have been recovered from the encounter sites. Search operations are continuing in the region, the official said.

With this operation, at least 20 Maoists have been killed in separate encounters in the state so far this year.

On January 3, a total of 14 Maoists were gunned down in two encounters in the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, including Bijapur.

Last year, 285 Maoists were killed in encounters with security forces in the state. The Centre has set the deadline of March 31, 2026, to eradicate Left-Wing Extremism from the country.