Maoist carrying Rs 1 Crore bounty among 20 killed in Chhattisgarh

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah called security operation in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district a ‘major successes’ after it reportedly killed a bounty-carrying Maoist among 20 others.

The exchange of fire that took place last night at the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border left senior Maoist leader, Jayaram Reddy, killed. He was carrying a Rs 1 crore bounty, NDTV reported.

Known as Chalapati, Reddy met his end in the operation carried out by jointly by the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), CoBRA from Chhattisgarh and Special Operation Group (SOG) from Odisha.

Armed forces went about with the operation upon receiving intelligence input about the Maoist presence in the Kularighat reserve forest of Chhattisgarh, close to border of Odisha's Nuapada district.

An official reportedly claimed that weapons including firearms, a self-loading rifle alongside ammunition and IEDs were recovered from the site during search operation.

Home Minister Amit Shah responded to the report saying the operation was ‘another mighty blow to Naxalism’.

‘Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat. The CRPF, SoG Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police neutralised 14 Naxalites in a joint operation along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border,’ he posted on X.

Amit Shah, who announced to eradicate Maoists by March 2026, added that ‘With our resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of our security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today.’

It is reported that around 40 Maoists have killed so far in several encounters in Chhattisgarh this year with Chalapati being a senior member of the outfit.

A resident of Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor, Chalapati was a senior member of the central committee of the Maoists.

Chalapati reportedly shifted his base recently to the Odisha border seeking safer places, after frequency of encounters in the region increased.