Top Maoist Udham Singh neutralised in Bijapur encounter; AK-47, explosives seized

Raipur/Bijapur: Security forces achieved a significant breakthrough in their anti-Maoist campaign in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Thursday, when a joint operation resulted in the killing of a key Maoist leader in the forested and hilly terrain under Tarrem police station limits in the southern part of the district.

Acting on specific intelligence inputs about the presence of South Bastar Division Divisional Committee Member (DVCM) Udham Singh and other armed cadres, teams from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) Bijapur and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) launched a search operation in the area, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav told the media.

Intermittent exchanges of fire erupted between the security personnel and the Maoists starting around 7 a.m., continuing for several hours amid the challenging forest landscape.

During the search at the encounter site, the body of Udham Singh was recovered. He carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh and was identified as the in-charge of Platoon No 30 in the South Bastar Division, the senior police officer said.

A resident of Kottaguda village under Basaguda police station, Udham Singh had joined the CPI (Maoist) as a party member in 2002-03 and had been active primarily along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.

In recent years, he operated in the Pamed Area Committee for about three years. He faced nine criminal cases registered in various police stations of Bijapur district.

Authorities linked him to several major incidents, including an attack on a police party in the Gundam forests under Tarrem in 2023, a police-Maoist encounter in the Putkel-Chipurabhatti forest under Basaguda in 2024, and an attack on the Jidpalli camp in 2024, the official said.

From the site, security forces recovered one AK-47 rifle with two magazines and 28 rounds, along with cordex wire, a wireless set, a mobile phone, pouch, backpack, tiffin bag, explosives, and other Maoist-related materials, the official said.

Alongside Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P., Deputy Inspector General (Ops), CRPF, Bijapur Sector, BS Negi, and other senior officers at the district headquarters also spoke to the media to give detailed information and highlighted the operation’s success in neutralising a high-value target amid intensified efforts to dismantle Maoist networks in the Bastar region.

This encounter contributes to the district’s strong performance in anti-Naxal operations. In 2025, security forces eliminated 163 Maoists in various engagements. In 2026 so far, 11 have been killed, bringing the total from January 2024 to the present to 232 Maoists neutralised.

Additionally, 1,163 have been arrested, and 888 have surrendered and joined the mainstream under rehabilitation initiatives.

With the Union government’s March 31, 2026, deadline for eradicating Left-Wing Extremism approaching, such results underscore progress in restoring peace and development in previously insurgency-affected areas of Bijapur.

Search operations continue in the region to clear remaining threats and secure the area fully.

IANS