31 Maoist rebels killed in India
Indian security forces have killed 31 Maoist rebels in a three-week operation in central India, police said on Wednesday.
The rebels were killed in a joint operation by the Chhattisgarh state police and federal paramilitary forces with backup of Indian Air Force helicopters, Chhattisgarh state police chief Arun Dev Gautam said at a media briefing.
India's Home Minister Amit Shah in a post on X described the operation in the Kurraguttalu Hills on the border of Chhattisgarh and Telangana states in central India as 'a historic breakthrough' in the fight against the Maoist rebels.
India's armed Maoist rebellion has been fought largely from the forest belts across several states in central and eastern India. The rebels have suffered heavy losses over the past few years with Shah saying they would be rooted out by March 31, 2026.
According to government data released earlier this year, 380 Maoist rebels have been killed, 1,194 arrested and 1,045 have surrendered since December 2023.
More than 100 civilians and 40 security force personnel have been killed in the same period, according to the South Asia Terrorism portal.
Shah said the Kurraguttalu Hills functioned as unified headquarters for several Maoist groups, and training and strategizing took place there. Gautam said the mission used technical field intelligence, and security forces had established a hilltop base with a helipad. Four weapons manufacturing units were also discovered and destroyed, he said.
Maoist or left-wing extremism is described by the government as one of India's most serious internal security challenges. It is rooted in socio-economic inequality, under-development and fuelled by Maoist ideology.
The Maoist rebels reject parliamentary democracy and claim their armed rebellion aims to secure rights for the poor and marginalized, especially in tribal areas.
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