Overview
- Police confirmed the death of Ganesh Uike, 69, a CPI (Maoist) central committee member and Odisha in-charge who carried a ₹1.1 crore bounty.
- Based on Special Intelligence Wing inputs, 23 teams — 20 SOG, two CRPF and one BSF — moved into the Chakapad area and the Rambha forest range along the Kandhamal–Ganjam border.
- Four Maoists in uniform were found dead at the Chakapad site on Thursday, while two were killed the previous night in the Gumma forest, taking the toll in the linked actions to six.
- Two INSAS rifles and a .303 rifle were recovered; identities of three of the four killed on Thursday are being verified as combing operations continue with no security force casualties reported.
- Leaders including Union home minister Amit Shah and Odisha’s DGP hailed the result as a breakthrough in efforts to end Left-Wing Extremism by March 31, 2026, even as verification of all identities remains pending.