Fourteen Maoists, including a key leader, were killed in two separate encounters by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) on Saturday morning in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district and neighbouring Bijapur district — a development security forces see as a major breakthrough as their anti-insurgency push enters its final stages. The encounters, the first between the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) and security forces this year, came hours before key Maoist commander Barsa Deva surrendered in Telangana.
Of the 14 Maoists, 12 were killed in southern Sukma, while two were killed in Bijapur, where the encounter broke out around 5 am. Among those killed in Sukma was Vetti Mangdu alias Mukka, secretary of the Konta area committee. A Divisional Committee member (DVCM), Mukka is said to have masterminded the improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Konta that killed Additional Superintendent of Police Akash Rao Giripunje in June last year.
For security forces, the twin encounters in Sukma and Bijapur, along with Deva’s surrender, signify shrinking space for the outlawed Maoists and a decisive phase in the anti-insurgency campaign.
“As part of the mission, District Reserve Guard (DRG) teams were dispatched to the South Bastar area,” Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P said. “During the operation, intermittent encounters have been underway between the DRG and Maoists in Bijapur district since around 5 am, while intermittent firing between security forces and Naxals in Sukma district has been reported since around 8 am.”
He said automatic weapons, including AK-47s, INSAS and SLR rifles, were seized from the encounter sites.
According to Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chawan, all armed Maoists of the Konta area committee were killed in the encounters, which come as the March 2026 deadline set by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to root out Maoism looms.
“In the past, Mukka managed to escape in multiple encounters. He was a hardened Maoist involved in several violent crimes,” the officer said.
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For security forces, the encounter marks a significant breakthrough, especially given the dominance of the Konta area committee — along with the Kistaram area committee in Sukma — in Battalion 1 of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the most powerful armed wing of the banned outfit, in which Deva was a top commander.
“It was the breeding ground for top Naxalites like Ramanna, Hidma and Barse Deva. The area was also an important transit point to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,” an officer said.
Hours later, Deva, who carries a bounty of Rs 50 lakh, surrendered before the Telangana Police along withat least48 other Maoist cadres. A top commander of PLGA Battalion 1, Deva — also known as Barsa Sukka and Devanna — was believed to be a lieutenant of Hidma, a senior Maoist leader killed in a major encounter in November.
In a press release, Telangana DGP Shivadhar Reddy said the Maoists had suffered a major setback with Deva’s surrender. “Only one state committee member from Telangana is underground now that Kanakanala Raji Reddy too surrendered. Forty-eight weapons were also surrendered by the Maoists,” the release said.
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For the Maoists, this, along with the surrender of senior Politburo member and spokesperson Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu in October, and the encounter killings of their general secretary Basava Raju in May and Hidma in November, marks a major setback to an already weakened movement.
Speaking toThe Indian Expressearlier this week, Reddy called Deva’s surrender “the end of the Maoist story in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district”.
“Deva’s surrender is also the end of the Maoist movement in Chhattisgarh,” the DGP said, adding that after the death of Hidma and the surrender of Deva, “there’s no one else to carry forward violent Maoist activities”.
Over 500 Maoists have been killed in the state since 2024. Of these, 285 were killed last year alone, 256 of them in Bastar.
