Woman Naxalite with Rs 25 lakh bounty killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh

Dantewada (Chhattisgarh): A woman Naxalite, carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh on her head, was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Monday, an official said.

The gunfight broke out at around 9 am in a forest along the border of Dantewada and Bijapur districts, located in the region, when a team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai said.

The operation involving personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was launched in the forests of Geedam (Dantewada) and Bhairamgarh (Bijapur), he said.

After the exchange of fire stopped, the police found the body of a woman Naxalite, identified as Renuka alias Chaite alias Saraswati, resident of Warangal in neighbouring Telangana, the official said.

Renuka, a special zonal committee member of Naxalites, was in-charge of the press team of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee - the strongest formation of Maoists, he said.

An Insas rifle, other weapons and explosives were also recovered from the encounter site, the official said.

With the latest action, 135 Naxalites have been gunned down in separate encounters in the state so far this year. Of them, 119 were eliminated in the Bastar division comprising seven districts, including Dantewada and Bijapur.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government is resolved to eradicate Naxalism before March 31, 2026.

On Saturday, security forces gunned down 18 Naxalites, including 11 women, in twin encounters in Sukma and Bijapur districts of the Bastar region.

Earlier this month, security forces killed 30 members of the banned CPI (Maoist) in two separate encounters in Bijapur and Kanker districts under the Bastar region.