New Delhi [India], August 24 (HBTV): Security forces killed two senior Naxal cadres carrying a combined bounty of INR 1.16 crore during an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district.

The slain insurgents were identified as Vijay Reddy, a Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) member with a bounty of INR 90 lakh, and Lokesh Salame, Secretary of the Rajnandgaon-Kanker Border (RKB) division, carrying a reward of INR 26 lakh.

The operation was jointly conducted by Chhattisgarh Police, District Reserve Guard (DRG), and the 27th Battalion of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on August 13.

Weapons including an INSAS rifle, .303 rifle, walkie-talkie, and other Naxal materials were recovered from the site after a three-hour-long gun battle.

Officials described the killings as a “major blow to Naxal operations” in the North Bastar and RKB regions, where both leaders had been active for over two decades.

SP YP Singh and ITBP Commandant Vivek Kumar Pandey confirmed the operation’s details at a press conference, calling the elimination of Reddy and Salame the end of an era of Left-Wing Extremist terror.

Reddy, also known by multiple aliases, was wanted across Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh for multiple civilian and police killings, including the 2009 Rajnandgaon ambush in which 29 policemen, including SP VK Chaube, were martyred.

Salame, aged 35, had been instrumental in mobilising cadres in the region and had taken charge of the RKB division in January 2025.

Authorities confirmed that anti-Naxal operations in the district under Operation Prayas have intensified, leading to the killing of several top leaders, arrests, and surrenders in recent months. Security forces have also appealed to remaining cadres to surrender under rehabilitation policies.

(ANI)