NEW DELHI: In a major operation in Chhattisgarh’s Gariyaband district on Thursday, security forces neutralised 10 Naxals, including a Central Committee Member (CCM) of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) who carried a Rs 1 crore bounty.Manoj alias Modem Balakrishna — also known as Balanna, Ramachander and Bhaskar — had joined the movement in the 1980s and was regarded as one of the outfit’s top commanders.
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Congratulating the forces, Union home minister Amit Shah wrote on X: “Our security forces have achieved another major success against the Naxalites today. In Chhattisgarh, CRPF’s Cobra commandos, Chhattisgarh Police, and DRG conducted a joint operation and eliminated 10 notorious Naxalites, including CCM Modem Balakrishna alias Manoj, who carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore. The remaining Naxalites should surrender in time. The complete eradication of red terror is certain before March 31st (2026).”The encounter broke out in the forests under Mainpur police station limits when security personnel, acting on intelligence inputs about the movement of senior Naxals, launched an operation more than 180 km from state capital Raipur.With this latest encounter, 241 Naxals have been neutralised in Chhattisgarh this year. Of them, 212 were killed in Bastar division, 27 in Gariaband under Raipur division, and two in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki in Durg division. Earlier in January, 16 Naxals were killed in an encounter in the same Mainpur area. Last year, 219 Naxals were neutralised in the state.
