At least 31 suspected Maoist insurgents and two police officers lost their lives on Sunday in what has become the most lethal encounter this year in central India, according to police reports.
The clash took place in the forests of the Indravati region in Chhattisgarh state. Acting on intelligence that a large gathering of rebels had assembled in the area, hundreds of police and paramilitary forces initiated a search operation, said state police Inspector General Pattilingam Sundarraj.
“As the troops conducted a search operation, fighting erupted in the forest, killing at least 31 insurgents and two police officials,” Sundarraj said.
He added that two other police officers sustained injuries in the confrontation. The forces recovered automatic rifles and other arms and ammunition from the scene, with search operations still ongoing.
There was no immediate response from the rebels.
Sunday’s encounter marks the most significant battle of the year and the second major confrontation in less than a month in Chhattisgarh, according to police officer Jitendra Yadav.
On January 23, at least 16 rebels were killed in the state’s Gariband district. Authorities had placed bounties totaling approximately $345,000 on 12 of them. Later, on January 31, eight more rebels were killed in a gunfight with security forces in the Bijapur district.
The Maoist insurgency, also known as the Naxalite movement, has been ongoing since 1967.
The rebels, inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, are fighting for better job opportunities, land rights, and access to wealth from natural resources for poor indigenous communities across several central and northern Indian states.
Years of neglect have left many locals in these areas without access to essential services such as schools, healthcare, and employment, creating a fertile ground for the rebels’ influence.
Fluent in local tribal languages, the insurgents have positioned themselves as defenders of the people, particularly in Chhattisgarh, one of India’s most impoverished states despite its abundant mineral resources.
The rebels have targeted police and government installations over the years, ambushing security forces, destroying public offices, and carrying out high-profile abductions.
They have also blown up rail tracks, raided prisons to release their comrades, and looted police and paramilitary armories to bolster their arsenal.
