A Naxal was killed in an encounter in the hilly area of the forest of Gedabeda village in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, officials said on Wednesday. The Naxal was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head. A .303 rifle, a walkie-talkie set, and other material were recovered from the spot.
As per reports, the encounter took place on Tuesday under the Partapur police station when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Naxal operation.
District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel of the Chhattisgarh Police and Border Security Force were part of the operation, which was launched on September 7.
The body of the Naxal killed in the encounter has been recovered. The Naxal has been identified as Masa, a member of ‘military company’ no. 5 of PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army) of the Maoists.
Central Government Vowed To Make India Naxal-Free By March 2026
Union Home Minister Amit Shah vowed to eliminate Maoism by March 31, 2026. He has reiterated that the central government will not rest until all the Naxalites are either surrendered, caught or eliminated.
Decline Of Maoism In India
The Red Corridor was once expanded to more than 180 districts in India, but now it is limited to only 18 districts. As per government sources, incidents of Left-Wing extremism have fallen by over 50% between 2004–14 and 2014–23, with fatalities dropping nearly 70%. MoS Nityanand Rai said in the Lok Sabha that Naxal violence peaked in 2010 with 1,936 incidents and 1,005 deaths, but declined to 374 incidents and 150 deaths by 2024.
As per a PIB release, the number of most affected districts has been reduced from 12 to 6, which include four districts from Chhattisgarh (Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur, and Sukma), one from Jharkhand (West Singhbhum), and one from Maharashtra (Gadchiroli).
The report also said that in the last 10 years, over 8,000 Naxalites have abandoned the path of violence, and consequently, the number of Naxal-affected districts has reduced to fewer than 20.
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