At least 12 Naxal militants were reported killed during an ongoing encounter in the southern Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on Thursday. Earlier that day, two security personnel sustained injuries from an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Bijapur district.
Chhattisgarh’s Deputy Chief Minister, Vijay Sharma, condemned the IED blast, calling it a cowardly act by the Naxals who have scattered IEDs throughout the area. He stressed the threat this poses not only to security forces but also to civilians and animals. The two injured jawans have been hospitalized and are reported to be in stable condition.
This incident coincides with a ramping up of anti-Naxal operations in Bijapur. On January 12, security forces killed five Naxalites, including two women, in a separate encounter in the same district. Moreover, on January 6, a significant IED blast killed eight members of the security forces and a civilian driver in a targeted attack on a police vehicle.
In response to the ongoing violence, Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed his condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to eradicate Naxalism from India by March 2026, stating that the sacrifices of the soldiers would not be in vain.
