Maoist with Rs 1-crore bounty among 10 shot in Chhattisgarh

In a major breakthrough, security forces on Thursday gunned down a top Maoist commander, Modem Balakrishna, alias Manoj, and nine others in an encounter in Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh.

Balakrishna, a coordination committee member of the banned CPI (Maoist), reportedly carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head.

Sources said the count might go up as the encounter between security forces and Naxals was still underway.

“Ten Naxals, including Manoj, alias Modem Balakrishna, have been neutralised by security forces in Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh,” SP Gariaband Nikhil Rakhecha was quoted as saying by agencies.

Raipur Range IGP Amresh Mishra said the encounter broke out in a forest area under the Mainpur police station limits during an anti-Naxal operation in the region.

“Personnel belonging to the special task force (STF), CRPF’s elite CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) and other state police units are involved in the operation. Intermittent exchange of fire is still underway,” he was quoted as saying.

The security forces have conducted multiple operations over the past few months against Naxalites. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has set a target to finish Left-wing terrorism from the country by March 31, 2026.

In a separate incident, two personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were injured when a pressure IED planted by Naxalites exploded in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, officials said.