Chhattisgarh (Maoist Insurgency): Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2024

On January 1, a six-month-old girl child was killed, her mother sustained a bullet injury on her hand, and two District Reserve Guards (DRG) jawans (personnel) were injured in the exchange of fire between the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and DRG jawans in the forests of Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh, reports The Indian Express. A joint operation of area domination exercise was undertaken by DRG and the Central Police Reserve Force (CRPF). Read less...

On January 6, a 25-year-old school teacher, identified as Ramlal Nureti, was arrested from Karekatta village under Madanwada Police Station limits in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki District of Chhattisgarh for allegedly being a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) supporter, reports Devdiscourse. Angered by the arrest, a group of villagers, including schoolchildren, have launched a protest in front of Sitagaon Police Station, demanding his release. Ramlal was allegedly involved in putting up Maoist banners and posters in the area in September last year, the Police said. On September 15, 2023, the police recovered posters and banners from the Madanwada area, where Maoists appealed to observe the 19th anniversary of the outlawed movement, the Police added. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) arrested three Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, identified as Madakam Handa (35), Medium Podia (38) and Korsa Dhurva (21), allegedly involved in the attack on a team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), in which one officer was killed and another soldier was injured, from Pandumeta hills under Jagargunda Police Station area in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on January 7, reports ibc24.in. All three were active as members of Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan (DAKMS) in Jagargunda. Officials said, “The arrested Naxalites [Left Wing Extremists, LWEs] were involved in the attack on a team of the 165th battalion of the CRPF on December 17. CRPF Sub Inspector Sudhakar Reddy was killed in the attack, and a constable was injured by the bullet.” Read less...

The Chhattisgarh government has extended an invitation to the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) to engage in unconditional talks, suggesting that dialogue can take place through video conferencing if they are reluctant to come for physical meetings, reports The Times of India on January 11. The aim of the dialogue is to restore peace and stability in the tribal region. Read less...

The joint team of Security Forces (SFs), consisting of Bastar Fighters and District Reserve Guards (DRG), recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition in between Danteshpuram and Korajguda in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on January 11, reports The Free Press Journal. The SF team recovered two Under Barrel Grenade Launchers (UBGL), 12 bolt guns, one bird hunting rifle, 16 BGL cells, 24 BGL cartridges, three backpacks, a magazine pouch, one bundle of red cloth, and other daily use items, including banned Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] literature. The Maoists escaped deep into the jungle, seeing the Police team approaching their location, Sukma Police said. Read less...

A Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) ‘militia’ (people’s army of the Maoists) ‘commander’, identified as Toya Potam alias Somlu (30), carrying a reward of INR 100,000 on his head, was killed in an encounter with Security Forces (SFs) during an anti-Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] operation in a forest near Pusnar village under Gangalur Police Station limits in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 12, reports NDTV. "Intelligence inputs were received about the presence of senior Naxalites, including Gagalurarea committee secretary Dinesh Modiyam, and some 20–25 armed ultras cadres in Pusnar forest. In the ensuing gunfight, Naxalite Toya Potam alias Somlu (30), was killed," a Police official said. "Potam carried a reward of ₹ 1 lakh and was the militia commander of the outlawed Maoist organization. Four warrants were pending against him. He was involved in acts of murder, attacks on security forces, etc.," the official said, adding that arms, explosives, and other items have been recovered from the site. Read less...

Three Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, one of whom carried a reward of INR 500,000 on his head, surrendered in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh on January 13, reports The Pioneer. Lokesh Muchaki alias Ganga alias Barum, Muchaki Muda, and Ayata Kuhdam turned themselves in on January 13, Dantewada Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaurav Rai said. Ganga, who carried the bounty, was the Dumam Local Organisation Squad (LOS) ‘commander’ while the two others were lower-rung cadres of the CPI-Maoist outfit. The trio was involved in several Naxalite [Left Wing Extremist, LWE] incidents. Read less...

An encounter took place between Security Forces (SFs) and cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) near the hill of Takameta village in Narayanpur District of Chhattisgarh on January 14, reports The Print. After the exchange of fire, the SFs arrested four Maoists identified as Aaitu Ram Nuruti (26), Manoj Hichami (22), Suresh Nuruti (25), and Budhu Ram Padda (25) during the operation, which was part of Operation Surya-Shakti undertaken by the SFs. 'Operation Surya-Shakti' was conducted between January 12 and 16 in villages including Urchapal, Paraidhi, Pangur, Tekameta, Musparse, Kukur and others, a Bastar Police statement said. Read less...

The cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) allegedly killed a man, identified as Rishu Punem, in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 15, reports The Pioneer. The body of Rishu Punem was found near Pusnar village in the Gangalur area, Bijapur Superintendent of Police (SP), Anjaneya Vaishnav, said. The incident came to light after some villagers informed the Police that Punem’s body was lying on the road, a few kilometres from Pusnar village. Allegedly, the Maoists killed the villager in a fit of rage after the killing of Gangalur Area Committee’s ‘Jan Militia’ (people’s army of the Maoists) ’commander’ Toya Potam by the Police on January 12. Read less...

A Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, identified as Ratan Kashyap alias Salam (31), involved in the killing of three Policemen and carrying a reward of INR 500,000 on his head, was killed in a gunbattle with Security Forces (SFs) in the forest near Mangnar village under Barsur Police Station limits in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh on January 16, reports Deccan Herald. Personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters (BF), both State Police units, and the Central Reserve Police Force's (CRPF) 195th battalion were out on an anti-Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] operation after receiving intelligence inputs about the presence of armed Naxals of the Aamdai Area Committee in the Mangnar Forest, a senior Police official said. Kashyap was the Todma ‘Militia Platoon Deputy Commander’ as well as an Aamdai ‘Area Committee Member (ACM)’ of the outlawed Maoist organisation, the officer added. In 2020, Kashyap was involved in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in which two Policemen were killed and in the murder of a Policeman elsewhere in the Mardum area of Bastar District, the official said. Kashyap was involved in a total of nine Naxal violence incidents in Dantewada and Bastar Districts, he added. Read less...

A gunfight took place between Security Forces (SFs) and cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in the hills between Takilkot and Binagunda villages in Kanker District of Chhattisgarh on January 16, reports The Print. A makeshift Maoist unit that manufactured Barrel Grenade Launchers (BGLs) was demolished during the operation. A Bipod Grenade Launcher, 14 BGL shells, two air rifles, two muzzle-loading weapons, three INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) magazines, a telescope, two generators, Maoist uniforms, and food materials in huge quantities were also recovered. “Given the amount of arms and ammunition recovered, it seems that the Maoists had hidden these things with the aim to cause damage to security forces, citizens and public property,” Bastar Police said. Read less...

Chhattisgarh Police have refuted the claims of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) that as many as 35 security personnel were killed in the PLGA (People's Liberation Guerilla Army) attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Dharmaram camp in Pamed area in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 16, reports Telangana Today on January 23. The Police described the claims of CPI-Maoist ‘central regional bureau (CRB)’ ‘spokesperson’ Pratap about the casualties on the Police side as far-fetched and baseless. They asserted that only four security personnel lost their lives in the attack. According to sources, as many as 65 Maoist sympathisers and those supporting the Maoists have been arrested in the Bastar region in the past week following the attack, and a probe is underway into the incident. Read less...

The Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) ‘central regional bureau (CRB)’ has described the January 16 PLGA (People's Liberation Guerilla Army) attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Dharmavaram camp in Pamed area in the Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh state as "unprecedented," reports Telangana Today on January 22. Its ‘spokesperson’ Pratap, in a statement released to the media on January 22, claimed the attack was a “befitting reply to the recently launched ‘Operation Kagaar-Surya Shakti’ by the Brahmanical Hindutva fascist rulers to eradicate the Maoist movement and to the ongoing onslaught on adivasis”. The PLGA fighters, along with thousands of revolutionary masses, executed the raid. In the three-hour raid, the guerillas fired more than 600 grenade launcher shells and other country-made grenades with rapid firings on the CRPF camp, he said. Pratap claimed that as many as 35 security personnel were killed and more than 40 were seriously injured. Prior to the raid, the guerillas took the entire periphery of the camp under their control. The locals disabled the movement of additional forces by blocking the roads with huge tree logs, and the militia kept landmines to attack the incoming forces. A Maoist ‘commander’ Devalu, ‘battalion member’ Vikram, and People’s ‘militia’ (people’s army of the Maoists) member Madkam Devalu were killed during the raid. Police officials, the State and Central governments were silent regarding the raid and trying to keep the details of casualties on their side in darkness, Pratap alleged. Police barricaded the total area, not allowing the journalists to cover the facts and figures of the raid. Thousands of police were deployed in Bastar division, particularly Narayanpur district, to establish several new advanced base camps. In order to keep their morale high, the higher officials were hiding the facts, Pratap said. Another reason for hiding the facts was that the newly elected BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government in Chhattisgarh feared the opposition parties’ criticism of its failure to tackle the Maoists. The Centre also feared that the attack might divert public attention from the Ram Janmabhoomi temple consecration, Pratap alleged, adding that the BJP government was hiding the facts in view of the upcoming 2024 general election and to preserve its power at the Centre. Read less...

A security personnel who suffered injuries in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh succumbed after 20 days of treatment at a private hospital in Raipur District on January 17, reports The Times of India. Earlier reported by South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) that the security personnel from District Reserve Guards (DRG), head constable, Arvind Ekka, sustained severe leg injuries in a pressure IED blast in Kavadgaon village in the Gangalur region of Bijapur District on December 29, 2023. While he underwent surgeries and regular monitoring by doctors, Ekka succumbed to his injuries. Read less...

Three Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, including two women cadres, were killed in a gun battle with Security Forces (SFs) during a search operation in the hills near Belam Gutta village under Basaguda Police Station limits in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 20, reports The Pioneer. A team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), were carrying out an operation in Balam Nedra and Belam Gutta villages, Bijapur Superintendent of Police (SP) Anjaneya Vaishnav said, adding that they had inputs about the presence of senior Maoists, including ‘divisional committee member (DCM)’ Vinod Karma, Awapalli Local Organising Squad (LOS) Raju Punem, ‘area committee member (ACM)’ Vishwanath, Guddu Telam, and 20–25 Naxalites [Left Wing Extremists, LWEs] of Basaguda and Madded Area Committees of the CPI-Maoist. After the encounter, the bodies of three Maoists, including two women (whose identities are yet to be ascertained), were recovered from the spot, and two muzzle-loading guns, a pistol, five live cartridges, 15 gelatins, five detonators, wires, explosive materials, Maoist uniforms, and literature were also recovered from the site. Read less...

The Union Home Minister (UHM) Amit Shah, on January 21, asserted that the country will be free from the menace of Naxalism [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] in the next three years and directed to expedite development activities in remote areas affected by the ultras, reports news18.com. Reviewing the Naxal situation in Chhattisgarh, Shah also directed the Security Forces (SFs) to financially choke the ultras. He also directed the officials to prepare a blueprint to end Naxalism. Supporters of Naxalism have to be identified and completely choked financially, Shah added. The UHM said all kinds of help will be ensured to the SFs and agencies operating in Chhattisgarh. The SFs have to bring the plan to the ground and end Naxalism completely. He also stressed the need for expediting development in Naxal-affected areas. All welfare schemes of the central and state governments have to be implemented in these areas with renewed vigour. According to Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) estimates, incidents of Naxal violence have gone down by 52 per cent in the past 10 years, while deaths in these incidents declined by 70 per cent. The number of affected districts has come down from 96 to 45, and the number of LWE-hit Police Stations has declined from 495 to 176, the estimates showed. Last month, the UHM said that 199 new security force camps have been established in LWE-affected areas since 2019. “In the last 10 years of the Narendra Modi government, we have been able to win the battle in the hotspots of Jammu and Kashmir, Left Wing Extremism and insurgency in the northeast, and the security forces have been able to establish their domination in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. Read less...

A Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) couple, whose identities are yet to be ascertained, surrendered as part of the Maoist eradication campaign being run in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 23, reports zeenews.india.com. The woman Maoist was a ‘section commander’ of Platoon No. 13B of the Mahila Bhairamgarh Area Committee, while her husband was a member of Chetna Natya Mandli (CNM), a cultural wing of Maoists, of the Palnar Revolutionary People’s Committee (RPC). Read less...

On January 25, a woman cadre of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) was injured in an encounter with the Security Forces (SFs) in a forest near Sikaser Dam under Mainpur Police Station limits in Gariabandh District of Chhattisgarh, reports latestly.com. The encounter took place when a District Force (DF) team was on an anti-Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] operation after receiving inputs about the movement of ultras, Gariabandh Superintendent of Police (SP) Amit Tukaram Kamble said, adding that on sensing the presence of Police at the site, the Naxalites opened fire and SFs retaliated. "The Naxalites fled into the core forest later. After the gunfight, a woman Naxalite was found injured at the site. She has been shifted to Gariabandh for treatment," he said. She is yet to be identified, but a preliminary probe suggests she is from Silger village in Sukma District and part of "company number 10" of the outlawed movement, the SP informed. Read less...

Three cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), including two women cadres, identified as Dudhi Sukdi (53), Dudhi Deve (38) and Madvi Hadma (26), surrendered in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on January 27, reports The Times of India. Of the three arrestees, Deve was active as the head of Tumalpad Krantikari Mahila Adivasi Sangthan and was carrying a cash reward of INR 100,000 on her head, the police said, adding that others worked as members of a frontal organization. She was leading the organisation by holding meetings in villages and propagating Maoist ideology. Citing disappointment and partiality by senior ‘commanders’, the three cadres surrendered before the Central Reserve Police Force's (CRPF) 50th battalion and district police. They said that they wanted to live a mainstream life. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) had averted a major tragedy by recovering two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted by the cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) while acting on a tip-off in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh on January 30, reports The Telegraph. The Police said the bombs — one weighing 5 kilograms and another 3 kilograms — had been planted on dirt tracks in Dantewada District. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) returning from a gunfight with Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres on January 30 discovered a 130-metre-long tunnel used as an underground hideout in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh, reports ptcnews.tv. Dantewada Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaurav Rai said the 10-foot-deep tunnel was discovered by a jawan from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), which is made up of local tribal youth. "The hideout was camouflaged, and no one noticed it until one of our District Reserve Guards jawans discovered it. This is probably the biggest underground hideout we've discovered in the region so far," Rai said. "We believe it served as a Maoist hideout during the movement of force. However, it can be used for other purposes, such as ambush trapping the police force," the SP stated. Read less...

Three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a gunfight with the cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) along the Sukma-Bijapur border in Chhattisgarh on January 30, when the commandos were working to establish a Forward Operating Base (FOB), reports The Telegraph. At least 15 CRPF personnel suffered injuries in the gun battle that began around 1pm, sources said. An FOB is a remote camp meant to facilitate security forces operating in core Maoist areas. Read less...

Two Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres were killed in the encounter in which three Security Forces (SFs) were killed in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on January 30, the Maoists acknowledged in a letter released on February 3, reports ntnews.com. A letter was released in the name of Samata of the ‘South Sub-Zonal Bureau’ of the CPI-Maoist that two Maoists were killed in the same incident. The letter stated that one of the two deceased was a female Maoist. The letter states that the deceased woman Maoist's name is Mandavi Manga alias Raje and she worked as a ‘section commander’ of ‘Company-2’ in the Maoist party. Also, the letter mentions that another of the dead is Mandavi Bojja, who is a party member of Battalion-1. Read less...