Raipur, April 12 (IANS) With heavy loss to Maoists reported in the Indravati dense forest region of Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh, security forces have eliminated three Maoists.

“The bodies of the three in camouflage uniform have been recovered from the area during a joint operation of security forces launched on Saturday morning,” police officials said.

They said that heavy ammunition and explosives have also been recovered from the encounter site, adding that the bodies are being identified.

An official said that the encounter in the area is also going on.

He said that the operation is a part of the ongoing mission to make India Maoist-free by March 2026.

He added that despite the appeal of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier this month in Bastar that Maoists should lay down their arms and come back home, they are still involved in criminal activities.

The joint team of security forces had launched an operation based on intelligence inputs at 9 am on Saturday, said police officials.

Recently, the Maoists had released messages that they want conditional surrender, but the Chhattisgarh government had responded that “until they do not lay down their arms, talks are not possible.

The Union Home Minister had appealed to all Maoists and called them to join the ongoing developmental activities, but none of the Maoist groups came forward.

Amit Shah had also warned that security forces are determined to make India Naxal-free by early next year.

In a significant development on March 20, 2025, two anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region led to the death of approximately 30 individuals identified as Maoists.

These operations were part of a series of 11 conducted by security forces throughout 2025, resulting in the neutralisation of 142 Maoists in total.

Among the major accomplishments of the year, security forces eliminated 31 Maoists on February 9 and 16 Naxalites on March 25, targeting various districts such as Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, and Narayanpur.