A major counterinsurgency drive was carried out by the security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Wednesday. (Photo:X)
The government has stepped up its offensive against the Naxalites, which comes after Union Home Minister Amit Shah set a March 31, 2026, deadline to eliminate the scourge of Naxalism from the country.
A major counterinsurgency drive was carried out by the security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Wednesday. The encounter resulted in the death of at least 22 Maoists. With this, the toll of Naxalites gunned down under Operation Sankalp since April 21 has climbed to 26. The encounter occurred on the Karregutta hill located on the border with Telangana, after a two-week-long joint op- eration by the security forces.
The forces had received information about a large Maoist presence in the area and had been conducting a joint operation to flush them out. The successful operation has dealt a massive blow to the Maoist movement in the region. The security forces located several Maoist bunkers, hideouts and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). With the latest action, 168 Naxalites have so far been gunned down in Chhattisgarh in separate encounters this year. Of them, 151 were eliminated in the Bastar division comprising seven districts, including Bijapur.
Operation Sankalp, one of the biggest counterinsurgency actions launched in the Bastar region, involves around 24,000 security personnel from different units, including the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters, Special Task Force (STF), all units of the State police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its elite unit CoBRA. The operation carried out on the Karregutta hills, spanning the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, represents one of the most extensive counterinsurgency drives. The operation aims to dismantle entrenched Maoist strongholds in this strategically significant and rugged terrain. The 5,000-foot hill along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, once a hub for Maoists, has been reclaimed by the security forces after nine days of intense operation.
This rugged terrain in a dense forest is believed to be a hideout of high- ranking Maoist leaders. For decades, Naxalism has been the biggest hurdle in the path of development in tribal are- as. Due to Naxalism, more than 8 crore people have been deprived of basic amenities, and this amounts to a major violation of human rights.
The government must take all possible steps to establish the rule of law in the Naxalism- affected areas. Well-coordinated efforts by both the Central and State governments need to be made to remove the era of lawlessness created by Left-wing extremism. The light of development and the prevalence of the rule of law will usher in a new dawn in the areas that have long suffered due to this violent ideology.