Chhattisgarh: Maoist carrying Rs 5 lakh bounty killed in Bijapur encounter

RAIPUR: A Maoist carrying a reward of ₹5 lakh was killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Friday. The gunfight broke out around 6 am in the Aadwada–Kotmeta forests in Bhairamgarh region in Indravati forest area, when a District Reserve Guard (DRG) team launched an anti-Maoist operation following inputs about the presence of armed cadres.

After the firing stopped, security personnel recovered the body of a cadre along with a .303 rifle, a 9 mm pistol and explosive materials from the spot.


The slain cadre was identified as 35-year-old Fagnu Madvi, an active member of the CPI (Maoist) Bhairamgarh area committee, who carried a cash reward of ₹5 lakh on his head, police said.

Besides weapons, two scanner sets, a radio set, a medical kit, cordex wire, Maoist bags, pamphlets and other items were also seized during a search of the encounter site. Operations were continuing in the surrounding forest through the day.

Bijapur SP Jitendra Yadav said intermittent firing took place between the DRG personnel and Maoists before the rebels fled, leaving the body and weapons behind. There was no report of any fatality among the security forces.

On Thursday, three Maoists were killed in an encounter with DRG personnel in neighbouring Sukma district when a team went out searching for PLGA battalion number 1 commander Deva. In that operation, three cadres — including two area committee members — were gunned down and a large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosive devices was seized.

Earlier on December 3, a major encounter on the Dantewada–Bijapur border left 12 Maoists dead, including divisional committee member (DVCM) Vella Modiyam, though three DRG jawans were killed and two others injured in that gun-battle.

Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, P Sundarraj said sustained operations in 2025 have pushed Maoism in Bastar to its “last phase” and the organizational structure of the outfit has “virtually collapsed”. He appealed to all active Maoists to abandon violence and avail themselves of the Chhattisgarh government’s surrender and rehabilitation policy.

According to police, 285 Maoists have been killed in encounters across Chhattisgarh this year, with 256 killed in the Bastar division, which includes seven districts. 27 cadres were killed in Gariyaband district while falls in Raipur division and two Maoists were killed in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district in Durg division. Officials say the latest action further weakens the Maoist presence in the core Indravati corridor, long considered one of their key strongholds.