Bastar (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 7 (HBTV): Anti-Naxal operations are being conducted over a vast 800-square-kilometre area near the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, including the Karegutta hills, according to a senior police official. More than 24,000 personnel from Chhattisgarh and central forces are involved in the operation, either directly or indirectly.

The primary objective of the operation is to free the area from the control of several Naxal groups, including the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), Telangana State Committee (TSC), People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Battalion No. 1, CRC Company, and other Maoist factions. These groups have been using the region as a hideout to carry out violent acts, endangering the lives of innocent civilians.

A few weeks ago, Naxals released a statement claiming to have planted numerous Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the area. This led to several civilian injuries and the death of a woman near Usur. Officials stated that the responsibility of the security forces is to sanitise the area and make it safe for the local population.

Authorities have confirmed that the operation will continue until all illegal Maoist elements are removed from the region. They urged Naxal members to renounce violence and surrender, assuring them an opportunity to reintegrate into mainstream society.

So far, three Naxals have been killed and their bodies recovered. Two security personnel sustained minor injuries during the ongoing operation.

The first incident occurred on the night of April 24, when a Special Task Force (STF) jawan suffered an ankle sprain due to the impact of an IED explosion. A second blast on April 26 left a District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan with minor injuries. Police officials confirmed that both jawans are in stable condition and are receiving medical treatment. They are expected to recover soon and return to duty.

Following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of top Naxal leaders—including most-wanted commanders like Hidma, Damodar, and Deva—security forces from Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Telangana were mobilised to cordon off the forest and Karegutta hill region in Bijapur, near the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.

Personnel from Chhattisgarh's DRG, Bastar Fighter, STF, Cobra, and CRPF units are participating in what is being described as the largest anti-Naxal operation in India's history.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai have repeatedly reaffirmed their commitment to eliminate armed Naxalism from Chhattisgarh by March 26, 2026. They have stated that ‘bullets will be answered with bullets,’ while also calling on Naxal cadres to shun violence and join mainstream society, stressing that the government does not wish to fire a single shot if peace is possible.

Since the formation of the BJP government in Chhattisgarh on December 3, 2023, security forces have neutralised 365 Naxals in separate encounters, arrested 1,382, and facilitated the surrender of 2,306 cadres under the state’s rehabilitation policy.

So far in 2025 alone, 144 Naxals have been killed, 367 arrested, and 476 have surrendered.

(ANI)