Two Maoists killed in Bijapur encounter

Two area committee members (ACMs) of the Maoists were killed in an encounter between the Naxals and the security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Thursday (February 26, 2026), police said. Both the slain Maoists were carrying a reward of ₹5 lakh each.

A senior police officer said that based on a tip-off about the presence of armed Maoist cadres of the Bhairamgarh Area Committee in the Jaigur-Dodum area under the jurisdiction of Jangla police station of Bijapur district, a search operation was launched on Wednesday (February 25, 2026).

After the encounter between the security forces and Maoists in the Indravati river area on Thursday (February 26, 2026), bodies of two uniformed Maoists were recovered. Weapons, explosives, and Maoist material, including an SLR rifle, an INSAS rifle, and 12 bores, were also recovered from the encounter site, the officer added.

The slain Maoists have been preliminarily identified as Hichami Madda and Manki Podium.