A significant anti-Maoist operation in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, has reportedly resulted in the killing of seven Maoists, including key leaders, marking a major success for security forces. The operation, which has been ongoing since Thursday, June 5, 2025, has so far led to the elimination of multiple high-ranking members of the banned CPI (Maoist).

Among those neutralized are Thentu Laxminarasimha Chalam alias Gautham alias Sudhakar, a Central Committee member and in-charge of the Revolutionary Political School (RePoS), and Mailarapu Adellu alias Bhaskar, a Telangana State Committee member. Sudhakar, 67, carried a reward of ₹40 lakh on his head, while Bhaskar had a cumulative bounty of ₹45 lakh. Bhaskar was identified as Mailarapu Adellu, a special zonal committee (SZC) member of the Telangana State Committee (TSC) of the outlawed Maoists. He carried a reward of ₹25 lakhs in Chhattisgarh and 20 lakhs in Telangana and was the secretary of the Mancherial-Komarambheem (MKB) division of the TSC of Maoists.

Security forces launched the operation following intelligence inputs about the presence of senior Maoist leaders in the National Park area of Bijapur district. A joint team comprising the District Reserve Guard (DRG), CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), and Special Task Force (STF) has been involved in the search operation.

The elimination of these key leaders is considered a significant blow to the Maoist leadership, particularly in the Dandakaranya region. Sudhakar was in charge of the tech team and the Regional Political School, which was responsible for the indoctrination of new cadres for the CPI (Maoist). Police also stated he was responsible for various violent incidents that resulted in the deaths of numerous innocent tribal civilians and security personnel and was involved in misleading and radicalizing the youth with violent and anti-national ideologies. Bhaskar, a resident of Adilabad district in Telangana, was the secretary of the Mancherial-Komarambheem (MKB) division of the TSC of Maoists and had strong ties with tribal communities.

In addition to the deaths of these leaders, two Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in the National Park area of Bijapur district on Saturday. An exchange of fire had been underway since Friday night.

The ongoing operation is part of a larger effort by security forces to end the Maoist menace by March 2026. Authorities believe that these recent successes will weaken the Maoist presence in the region. In the Bastar division, which includes districts of Bijapur, Bastar, Kanker, Konadagaon, Narayanpur, Sukma, and Dantewada, 186 Maoists have been killed in separate encounters in 2025.

The bodies of the Maoists have been recovered, along with AK-47 rifles, explosives, weapons, and ammunition. Search operations are still underway to locate other Maoist cadres in the area.