Chhattisgarh Police identify 28 of 31 killed Maoists, link commander to IED blasts that killed 8 jawans

The Chhattisgarh police on Thursday said it has identified 28 Maoists, including 17 males and 11 females, claiming that the Naxal commander killed earlier this week in Bijapur was involved in IED blasts at Ambeli in which 8 DRG jawans and a driver were killed last month.

The weapons, including AK-47 assault rifles recovered from the Maoists, were found to have been looted from jawans in 2014, 2013 and 2006.

The West Bastar division chief Hunga Karma (42), killed earlier this week, had joined CPI (Maoist) organisation in 1996 and was believed to have been involved in attacks on security camps in 2006, 2007, 2013 and 2025 IED attacks. "The bodies of identified Maoists have been handed over to their families after observing necessary formalities," said Bijapur (SP) Jitendra Kumar Yadav.

According to Bastar (IG) Sundarraj P, "Karma had been active for very long and was involved in cases of murder, dacoity, robbery, kidnapping and attacks on security forces. He had 11 warrants pending against him and carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh. In 2024, we seized 10 AK-47 assault rifles, 3 light machine guns, 9 INSAS, 15.303 rifle and 286 arms and ammunition while in 2025 so far, we have seized 2 AK-47, 2 INSAS, 3.303 rifle besides 77 arms and ammunition."

The killed Maoists were aged between 21-42 years and three of them are still unidentified. On Sunday morning, a gunfight took place at a forest in the Indravati National Park area when a joint team of personnel from multiple security agencies was out on an anti-Maoist operation. A large cache of weapons and explosives was seized after the encounter. Two policemen of Chhattisgarh Police were also killed during the operation. The number of Maoists killed this year jumped to 89 after the latest operation. Last year, 287 Maoists were killed, 1,000 arrested while 837 surrendered in Chhattisgarh. The Bastar division, comprising seven districts - Bijapur, Sukma, Dantewada, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Kanker and Jagdalpur - was considered the stronghold of Maoists. While most of the region has been freed from Maoists, they continue to dominate in parts of Bijapur, Sukma, Narayanpur and Dantewada, said officials.