Daijiworld Media Network – Raipur

Raipur, Nov 16: At least three cadres of CPI (Maoist), including two women, were killed in an encounter with security forces in the dense, hilly forests of Tumalpad in Sukma district, about 500 km south of Raipur, the Bastar police said on Sunday. According to Sukma SP Kiran Chavan, a team of the District Reserve Guard launched an operation after receiving credible intelligence about Maoist presence in the area. An exchange of fire broke out in the morning and continued intermittently, following which the bodies of three Maoists were recovered from the spot.

The deceased have been identified as Madvi Deva, a Jan Militia Commander and member of the Konta Area Committee, Podium Gangi, the CNM Commander of the Konta Area Committee, and Sodi Gangi, an Area Committee Member from Kistaram. Each carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh on their heads. Security forces also seized a .303 rifle, a Barrel Grenade Launcher, and other weapons and ammunition from the encounter site.

Bastar Range IGP Sundarraj Pattilingam said the incident once again highlights the shrinking space for Maoist violence in the region. He stated that cadres have no option but to abandon the path of bloodshed and join the government’s rehabilitation efforts, adding that the so-called revolutionary movement has lost its relevance and continues to crumble under sustained security pressure. According to official figures, 233 Maoists, including senior members of the Central Committee, DKSZC and PLGA, have been killed in the Bastar Range so far in 2025.

Sukma remains one of the most sensitive and Maoist-affected districts in the Bastar zone and continues to be regarded as a stronghold of left-wing extremists in south Chhattisgarh.