NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday (February 9, 2025) that “Naxals” will be eradicated by March 31, 2026 and no citizen of the country has to lose his life due to it.
Shah said this after the security forces killed 31 Maoists in Chhattisgarh. “I also reiterate my resolve that before 31 March, 2026, we will completely eradicate Naxalism from the country so that no citizen of the country has to lose his life due to it,” he wrote on ‘X’ in Hindi.
The Home Minister said in the direction of making India Maoist-free, the security forces have achieved a big success in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh. He said that 31 Maoist were killed in this operation and a huge amount of arms and explosives were also recovered.
Shah said the security forces have also lost two of its brave soldiers “in the effort to end anti-human Naxalism” and the country will always be indebted to these heroes. “I express my heartfelt condolences to the families of the martyred soldiers,” he said.
Meanwhile, two security forces personnel and 31 Maoists were killed in an encounter at Indravati National Park in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said Sunday morning.
The encounter took place after a joint team of security forces, after getting information on the presence of Maoists in a specific area of the park, headed towards the location.
Inspector General of Police for Bastar Range, Sundarraj P, confirmed that the jawans killed in the encounter were from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Special Task Force (STF) – state-level forces that specialise in anti-Maoist operations. “Two other jawans have suffered injuries and a helicopter is taking off to evacuate them to Raipur for treatment,” an official said.
