Fourteen Naxals, including a top leader of the CPI (Maoists) who was carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore, were killed in a joint operation by central and state police forces along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday termed the encounter as “another mighty blow to Naxalism” and asserted the Narendra Modi government’s resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of the security forces to eliminate the menace from the country.
Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district superintendent of police Nikhil Rakhecha said of the deceased, one has been identified as Jairam alias Chalpati, a central committee member of the CPI (Maoist), who was carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore.
The identity of the remaining cadres was yet to be ascertained.
“Another mighty blow to Naxalism. Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat. The CRPF, SoG Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police neutralised 14 Naxalites in a joint operation along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. With our resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of our security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today,” Shah wrote on X.