SOURCE ; NEW18
Last Updated:January 21, 2025, 12:20 IST
Pratap Reddy, 13 Maoists killed: Union home minister Amit Shah, in a post on X, said: “Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat…”
Home minister Amit Shah said Naxalism was breathing its last today. (PTI File)
Pratap Reddy, a top Maoist who was heading the Odisha state committee and had a Rs 1 crore bounty on his head, was killed in a massive operation along with two women and 11 others on Tuesday. The 14 Maoists were killed in a joint operation with Chhattisgarh Police.
Union home minister Amit Shah praised the forces for successfully conducting the operation.
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“Another mighty blow to Naxalism. Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Operation Group (SoG) Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police neutralised 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,” Shah posted on X.
Another mighty blow to Naxalism. Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat. The CRPF, SoG Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police neutralised 14 Naxalites in a joint operation along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. With our resolve for a Naxal-free…— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) January 21, 2025
“Since the night of January 19, there were intelligence inputs about the presence of a large number of Maoists in the Kularighat reserve forest of Chhattisgarh, just 5 km from the border of Nuapada district of Odisha. A joint inter-state operation was launched by Odisha and Chhattisgarh police and CRPF personnel in the border areas of Nuapada district of Odisha and Gariabandh district of Chhattisgarh on the night of 19th January,” the Odisha police said.
“Two Maoist cadres (women) were neutralised in the operation on 20.1.2025. A large quantity of firearms, ammunition and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) including one SLR were recovered by the security forces on 20th January,” the police said.
“In continuation to the above, in the ongoing operation, 12 more Maoists have been killed during the late night and early morning encounter with the SOG team during the ongoing joint inter-state operation on the early morning of 21 January 2025. The number of Maoist casualties may increase. Arms and ammunition have been seized in massive amounts,” police said.
A massive search operation is underway by the police in the area.
In 2024, six Maoists were killed, eight arrested and 24 Maoists have surrendered. In 2025, till date, 14 Maoists have been killed in joint inter-state operations with the Chhattisgarh Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
According to sources, top officials of the CRPF from Odisha were monitoring the operations.
