Overview

• Gautam alias Sudhakar, a Central Committee member and ideological trainer carrying a ₹40 lakh bounty, was neutralised during a sustained gunfight in Indravati National Park.
• Joint teams from the District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force and CoBRA units acted on pinpoint intelligence to launch the early-morning anti-Naxalite strike.
• Security forces recovered automatic weapons, explosives and Maoist literature at the encounter site, highlighting a blow to the insurgents’ operational capabilities.
• In retaliation for Sudhakar’s death, Naxalites torched a truck on a Bijapur highway, prompting renewed combing operations by police.
• Sixteen other high-value Maoist commanders remain targets as authorities press to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s goal of eradicating Left Wing Extremism by March 2026.