Naxals strangle three villagers to death in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur
Three villagers were allegedly killed by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Tuesday evening. The victims were strangled with ropes.The attack appears to be an attempt by Naxalites to spread fear among locals, officials said. Police have launched an investigation to verify the details and confirm the identities of those involved.The attack comes even as security forces make significant gains in dismantling the Maoist movement, especially in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region, once the epicentre of Left-Wing Extremism.advertisement
'The Maoist movement is in its final days. Their leadership is disjointed and demoralised. Only 300 armed cadres remain in the Dandakaranya zone who must surrender or prepare for a decisive war,' said Bastar Inspector General of Police Sundarraj Pattilingam.According to Sundarraj, the top Maoist decision-making body, the Central Committee, has not met in years, forcing the remaining four Politburo members to take charge, most of whom are old, in hiding, or inactive.Former DGP and Naxal expert RK Vij added, 'The ideological vacuum is glaring. Maoist leadership has shifted from revolutionary rhetoric to criminality.'Earlier this month, a major breakthrough came when security forces killed Central Committee member Sudhakar, who carried a Rs 40 lakh reward on his head, during an encounter in Bijapur's National Park area. His death followed the neutralisation of CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao, also known as Basavaraju, in the dense Abujhmad forests.advertisementBasavaraju, a veteran of the Maoist movement since the late 1970s, had a Rs 1.5 crore bounty and was wanted for several deadly attacks across multiple states.Reacting to his death, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called the operation "a landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate Naxalism.' He said, 'It was the first time in three decades of Bharat's battle against Naxalism that a general secretary-ranked leader has been neutralised by our forces.'The government's aggressive anti-Naxal push has led to 253 encounters across the Bastar Range between 2023 and June 9, 2025, with 429 Maoists killed — including 192 this year alone. A total of 1,812 Maoists have surrendered or been arrested, and 916 IEDs and 606 weapons have been recovered.'The fight isn't over until the ideology is rejected in every corner. But this is the closest we've come to ending the insurgency,' Sundarraj said.Tune InMust Watch
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Hans India
22 minutes ago
- Hans India
Admin on alert for smooth conduct of Rath Yatra rituals
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Hans India
22 minutes ago
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Two Maoists killed in encounter
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