First Naxal clash of 2026 | Security forces kill 14 Maoists in Bastar

SUKMA/BIJAPUR: At least 14 Maoists, including wanted ultras Vetti Mangdu and Madvi Hunga, were killed in separate encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma and Bijapur districts on Saturday, marking the first Naxalite encounters of 2026 in the Bastar region, officials said. Of the total, 12 Maoists were neutralised during a gunfight in Sukma, while the bodies of two others were recovered from the forests in Bijapur. The operations were carried out by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) based on specific intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoist cadres in the region. In Sukma, the operation was launched on Friday night in the southern part of the district, with an exchange of fire beginning around 8 am on Saturday in the forests of the Kistaram area, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said. “The bodies of 12 cadres, including five women, and automatic weapons were recovered from the encounter site,” he said. Two of the slain Maoists were identified as Vetti Mangdu, the in-charge of the Konta area committee, and Madvi Hitesh alias Hunga, the secretary of the same formation. Security forces also recovered a cache of arms, including AK-47 rifles, INSAS rifles and self-loading rifles. Mangdu and Hunga were involved in several Maoist incidents in the region, including a June blast in Konta that killed then Additional Superintendent of Police Akash Rao Girepunje and injured two other officers. In a separate operation in Bijapur, a gunfight around 5 am resulted in the recovery of two Maoist bodies from Gaganpalli village in the Basaguda area, with identities yet to be established.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai hailed the security personnel for the operations, stating that the precise strategy, sustained pressure, and strong ground presence have rapidly weakened the Maoist network. He said decisive success has been achieved in the anti-Naxal operations in Bijapur and Sukma, and that Bastar is moving forward with new opportunities for development, investment, education, health, and employment. Sai credited the transformation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the courage and commitment of security forces, a sensitive rehabilitation policy, and the trust of the people. He appealed to remaining Naxalites to surrender and join the mainstream to avail benefits of government rehabilitation policies, warning that those who continue violence will face the full force of law and security forces. In 2025, a total of 285 Naxalites were killed in encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh, and the Centre has set a deadline of March 31, 2026, for eradicating Left-Wing Extremism.