Encounter breaks out between security forces and Maoists in Chhattisgarh

An encounter broke out between security personnel and Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Saturday (January 17, 2026), a police official said.

The gunfight erupted in the morning hours in the forested hills of the northwest region of the district, where a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Maoist operation based on inputs about the presence of Maoist cadres in the area, the officials said.

An intermittent exchange of fire was underway, and further details are awaited, he added.