7 Maoists killed in Gadchiroli: Operation lasted 3 days, 3 nights in hostile terrain

He further said that there will be no Maoists in Gadchiroli after March 31, 2026 – the deadline given by the governement to end Maoism

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said that those Maoists killed in the anti-Naxal operations in Gadchiroli were the last remnants and only handful of them are remaining in Maharashtra

“The police had laid two cordons, in which seven Maoists were killed and their leadership has been neutralised. These were the last remnants. On the Maharashtra side, only a handful of Maoists remain. Some are still in Chhattisgarh, but the way operations are progressing there, they too will be eliminated soon. The work done by the police is truly commendable. Unfortunately, we have lost a police martyr. Despite wearing a bulletproof jacket, he was hit by a bullet, which is extremely tragic. We will take care of his family. I congratulate the Gadchiroli police for their work. I believe the remaining cadres will either surrender or they too will be neutralised,” Fadnavis told mediapersons.

The Maharashtra government had announced a total cash reward of Rs 71 lakh cumulatively on them. While the Maoist movement in Gadchiroli district is now confined to the border areas of Bhamragad tehsil in Abujhmaad, police received a credible information on February 3 that remaining members of Company number 10 and unknown Maoists in Chhattisgarh have been camping with the intention of carrying out destructive activities in the Gadchiroli-Narayanpur border area.

An anti-Maoist operation, led by Sub-Divisional Police Officer Bhamragad Amar Mohite and 14 C-60 parties, was launched immediately in the forest area on Tuesday night.

Facing very remote and challenging terrain, the police parties had entered the said forest area. During the search operation on Wednesday, Maoists opened indiscriminate fire at the police personnel. The personnel retaliated and fired towards the Maoists in self-defence.

Commandos destroyed two Maoist camps and recovered a large quantity of Maoist belongings from spot. However, due to the adverse terrain and dense forest, the Maoists could not be traced.

Thereafter, it was decided to continue the operation on Thursday and four additional units of C-60 and one CRPF QAT unit were reinforced to the existing cordon.

As intermittent exchanges of fire continued between Maoists and Police, during the encounter on Friday, Police teams succeeded in recovering body of three Maoists along with two firearms including one AK-47 rifle and one SLR rifle from the spot.

Further, on Friday, in on-going encounter between Police and Maoists, four more bodies of Maoists were recovered from the spot. Overall, during the three-day operation conducted in highly remote terrain, Gadchiroli Police succeeded in neutralising seven Maoists.

However, during heavy firing by them late evening on Thursday, Deepak Chinna Madavi of C-60 Pranhita, received one bullet injury. He was airlifted from the deep forests of Abujhmaad early morning and was shifted to Sub-District Hospital, Bhamragad where he succumbed to the injuries.

During the operation, one more C-60 Commando, Joga Madavi, was also injured by a bullet. He too was airlifted to Gadchiroli. His condition is currently stable and he is undergoing treatment.

The seven Maoists include Prabhakar alias Ravi alias Prakalveer alias Swamy alias Loketi Chandarrao (57), resident of Isrojiwada, Kamareddy in Telangana. He carried a bounty of Rs 25 lakh. He was booked for a total 113 cases, including 73 charges of encounter, 13 murders, six cases of Arson, along with 21 others.

Another Maoist was Pagu Modyam (30) resident of Dalla, in Avapalli, in Bijapur, was commander of Company number 05, and carried a bounty of Rs 16 lakh. Anila alias Budari Kowachi (24), resident of Sukma, at PPCM rank and Guard of Prabhakar, carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh. Anila was booked for eight encounters, one murder and three other crimes.

Kamesh Pada (35) of Sukma, who was also killeed, belonged to Special Platoon Maad Area. Kamesh was PPCM and Commander of Special Platoon Maad Area, carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh. Bhajnath alias Bhima Holi (40) of Tekalgudem, Sukma (CG) was also neutralised. He carried a reward of Rs 6 lakh and belonged to Paralkot LOS at ACM rank.

Another Maoist is Mangali Kursam, a resident of West Bastar of Company No. 10, carrying a reward of Rs 4 lakh. Jogi Sodhi Madavi (27), of Budagicheru, Bijapur (CG) of Company No. 05, carrying a bounty of Rs 4 lakh was also neutralised.

Three AK-47 rifles, one SLR, one .303 rifle, 173 live rounds, three BGLs, seven magazines, and two bundles of cortex wire were seized from the location.

This successful operation was carried out under the guidance of ADG (Spl Ops) Dr Chhering Dorje, Spl IGP ANO Sandip Patil, DIG Gadchiroli Range Ankit Goyal, DIG (Ops) CRPF Ajai Kumar Sharma, SP Gadchiroli Neelotpal, Addl SP (Ops) M. Ramesh, Addl. SP Aheri Karrthik Madhira, Addl. SP (Admn.) Gokul Raj G., Dysp (Ops.) Vishal Nagargoje and led by Sub-divisional Police Officer, Bhamragad Amar Mohite, C-60 and CRPF commandos.