Maoist With Rs 1 Cr Bounty Among 14 Killed In Joint Op

Shah Terms It 'Mighty Blow To Naxalism'

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RAIPUR/BHUBANESWAR: Fourteen Naxals, including a top CPI (Maoist) leader carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore, were killed in a joint operation conducted by central and state security forces along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border. The operation, which spanned over two days, marked another major success in the government's efforts to eliminate the Naxal insurgency.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah described the encounter as "another mighty blow to Naxalism" and reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to achieving a Naxal-free India. "With our resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of our security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today," Shah wrote on X.

Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district superintendent of police, Nikhil Rakhecha, confirmed that one of the deceased has been identified as Ramachandra Reddy, alias Jairam, a central committee member of the CPI (Maoist). Reddy, hailing from Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district, was a high-value target due to his pivotal role in the Maoist hierarchy. The identities of the other slain cadres are yet to be confirmed.