Three Maoists Killed In Kanker Encounter, Toll In Chhattisgarh Crosses 250 This Year: Report

In the rugged hills of Chindakhadak village in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, a tense silence broke on Sunday morning as security forces clashed with a group of Maoists. 

By the end of the operation, three insurgents, two men and a woman, lay dead, adding to the growing toll of an insurgency that has shaped the Bastar region for decades.

This latest encounter pushes the number of Maoists killed in the state this year to 252, of which 223 deaths have occurred in Bastar, the heart of Left Wing Extremism, the Indian Express reported.

Kanker Superintendent of Police I Kalyan Elesela said the operation was carefully planned. “Acting on information about Maoists’ movement, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) from Kanker as well as Gariaband, along with Border Security Force (BSF), undertook an operation,” he explained.

The slain Maoists were not ordinary cadres. They were identified as Sarvan Madkam, alias Vishwanth and Budhram Punem, coordination incharge of the Sitanandi Ravas committee, carrying a bounty of Rs 8 lakh; Rajesh, alias Rakesh Hemla, a Nagri Area Committee member and Local Organisation Squad (LOS) commander, with a Rs 5 lakh bounty; and Basanti Kunjam, alias Hidme Piyem, a Protection Team member with a Rs 1 lakh bounty. Together, they carried a cumulative reward of Rs 14 lakh.

From the encounter site, security forces recovered a Self Loading Rifle, an automatic weapon, a .303 rifle, and a 12-bore gun — evidence of the firepower that continues to fuel the conflict.

Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P, issued an appeal to Maoists still active in the movement, “We appeal to Maoist cadres to accept the reality that Maoism is on the verge of extinction. The time has come for them to abandon violence and join the mainstream, taking advantage of the government’s rehabilitation policy. If they continue their illegal and violent activities, they will face severe consequences.”

Since 2024, security operations in Chhattisgarh have killed 471 Maoists. But the conflict has not been one-sided; in the same period, 39 security personnel and 107 civilians have lost their lives to Maoist-linked violence.

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