Maoist Chalapathi with ₹1 Cr bounty among 14 killed on Chhattisgarh-Odisha border encounter
Chalapathi is a Central Committee member of the banned Maoist organization from Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh
By Sri Lakshmi Muttevi Published on 21 Jan 2025 12:44 PM IST
Chhattisgarh: Security forces dealt a major blow to Maoists when they killed 14 ultras including a top leader carrying a bounty of ₹1 crore on his head, at Gariabad along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border on Tuesday.
Jai Ram alias Chalapathi is in charge of Srikakulam-Koraput Division. A Central Committee member of the banned Maoist organization from Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, carried a bounty of ₹1 crore. Chalapathi who had joined the movement about 25 years ago and is said to be an intellectual. He played a crucial role in the organization’s operations in Andhra Pradesh and neighboring states.
A joint operation involving the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), CoBRA unit, and Odisha’s Special Operation Group (SOG) targeted Maoist insurgents following intelligence on their presence in the Kularighat reserve forest. The operation involved nearly 1,000 personnel from both states, highlighting the scale and coordination of the inter-state effort.
Large quantities of weapons including automatic weapons like SLR Rifle have been recovered.
In a statement, Gariaband SP Nikhil Rakhecha said 14 Maoists were killed till Tuesday morning and a large quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from the site of the encounter. The number of casualties might rise as the intermittent firing goes on. This is the second such operation jointly launched with Odisha security forces this year.
On Jan 3, a Maoist was killed and three jawans were injured in a joint operation in forests of Gariaband district. With the latest killings, Chhattisgarh recorded a Maoist death toll of 40 this year, while 219 Maoists were killed in separate operations.
In a post on X, Unhion Home Minister Amit Shah wrote, "Another mighty blow to Naxalism. Our security forces achieved major success in building a Naxal-free Bharat. The CRPF, SoG Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police neutralized 14 Naxalites in a joint operation along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. With our resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of our security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today."
