Overview
- A joint team from the DRG, STF, CoBRA and CRPF launched an intelligence-led search in northwestern Bijapur near the Malkangiri border.
- Security forces recovered two bodies and seized automatic weapons, including an AK-47, from the encounter site.
- Sources have named senior commander Papa Rao among the dead, while police say preliminary identification points to DVCM Dilip Bedja, with confirmation pending.
- Intermittent exchanges of fire continued through the morning, and authorities withheld further details until the operation concludes.
- The action forms part of intensified counterinsurgency efforts in Bastar tied to the government’s March 2026 target to end left-wing extremism.