Maoist leader among 14 killed in Chhattisgarh gunfight

The death toll in a raid that night on the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border by security forces at least 14, including a senior leader, has reached 14 Maoists, sources said Tuesday — the rebels’ second major defeat in a week, and the latest in a wave of Left Wing Extremism crackdowns.

There were still fights taking place in the jungles of Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh and death toll could rise, the officers added.

They fought back on Monday night when a joint patrol of Chhattisgarh Police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG), CRPF’s CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) commandos and Odisha Police’s Special Operation Group (SOG) searched the Kularighat reserve forest, some 5km north of Odisha’s Nuapada district.

"We started the operation Sunday night, and have been firing since Monday morning. On Monday, two women Maoists were killed and a CoBRA jawan wounded. Police sealed off the streets and set up camp in the jungle on Monday night. On Tuesday, another shoot-out erupted and 12 Maoists were killed," said Amresh Mishra, inspector general of police, Raipur range. He said eight men and six women were among the dead. Odisha Police said another SOG jawan sustained injuries in the incident but said the two personnel were in stable condition.

"Chalapati was a CC (central committee) officer, so there would have been at least 12 armed guards with him. We know that about 25 cadre were there when the clash began and because they were in the presence of forces, it could increase the death toll," said an alpha police officer speaking on condition of anonymity.

The 60-year-old Chalapathi, from Matampalli village in Chittoor district, was among the key accused of the Claymore mine strike against the convoy of Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu at Tirupati in October 2003.

“Another mighty blow to Naxalism. "Our security forces were very successful in creating a Naxal free Bharat...With our determination to create a Naxal free India and our security forces’ cooperation, Naxalism is giving up its last breath today," he wrote on X.