9 dead as Maoists attack security vehicle in Chhattisgarh

Nine people died in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Monday after Maoists used an improvised explosive device to blow up a vehicle carrying members of the district reserve guard — the first major insurgent strike amid a string of ferocious encounters by security forces over the past year to eradicate Left-wing extremism in the state.

Police said that the death of the eight personnel from the DRG of Dantewada and a driver, on their way back from a joint anti-Maoist operation in the dense jungles of Abujhmad, was the biggest Maoist strike in the state in two years.

It also came after security forces killed roughly 222 insurgents in encounters since January 1, 2024 with an intention of eradicating Maoist violence in India by March 2026.

Inspector General of Police, Bastar range , Sunderraj P said that the incident occurred around 2.15pm near Ambeli village under the Kutru police station area. All the DRG personnel died on the spot.

“The victims, members of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a specialised anti-Naxalite unit of the state police, were returning from an operation when the explosion ripped through their vehicle,” said the IG .

The DRG personnel are mostly recruited from local tribal populations and from surrendered Maoists. The ill-fated car was the eighth in a nine-vehicle convoy.

“On Friday, we carried out a massive operation in Abujhmad in which security personnel from Dantewada , Bijapur, Jagdalpur, and Narayanpur were moved to the jungle. On Sunday morning, five Maoists were killed in the three-day long operation and one DRG head constable was killed. After the operation, the DRG personnel from Dantewada were returning to their base when the attack occurred in Kutru area,” said Sunderraj.

Union home minister Amit Shah condoled the deaths but reiterated his goal of eradicating Maoism.

“I am deeply saddened by the news of the loss of DRG soldiers in an IED blast in Bijapur (Chhattisgarh). I express my deepest condolences to the families of the brave soldiers. It is impossible to express this grief in words, but I assure you that the sacrifice of our soldiers will not go in vain. We will end Naxalism from the land of India by March 2026,” he said.

Visuals from the spot showed a huge crater, more than 14-feet deep, splitting the narrow road near a culvert at the site. The vehicle was destroyed in the attack and tore the bodies into shreds. A part of the vehicle was also seen hanging from a nearby tree.

Kamalochan Kashyap, deputy inspector general of police, South Bastar, said that the IED weighed about 70 kilograms and was planted months ago.

“After analysing the wires of IED, it seems that IED was planted months before and is used on Monday,” said Kashyap, adding that the incident took place at Bedre-Kutru road.

The IED was likely triggered from around 300m away and the Maoists who triggered it might have been hiding behind a tree away from the road, said people aware of developments. A wire about 300m long was recovered by the security personnel.

“There were nine SUVs ferrying the DRG jawans from Bedre camp of security camp to Dantewada,” said the DIG, adding the road opening party (ROP) was present on the left side of the road and the IED was triggered from the right side.

The ROP was deployed to sanitise the road during the movement of security personnel, VIPs and road construction work.

After the blast, the Maoists opened fire, prompting retaliation by the ROP that also stopped a planned looting of arms, said the people cited above. Seven vehicles passed the blast spot before the IED was triggered, said the people cited above. The vehicle which was just behind the targeted vehicle was also damaged in the blast. The windshield of the vehicle, which was 400 metres away from the blast spot, was damaged, senior officials said.

A senior police officer posted in Dantewada said that more than 200 jawans from Dantewada were sent for operation in the Abujhmad area – a known Maoist stronghold – on Friday.

Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said Maoists were frustrated with the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in Bastar and therefore, resorted to such “cowardly acts”.

“The news of the martyrdom of eight jawans and a driver in an IED blast carried out by Naxalites in Kutru of Bijapur district is extremely sad. My condolences are with the families of the martyrs. I pray to God to rest the souls of the martyred soldiers in peace and provide strength to the bereaved families,” Sai said in a statement.

Former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel also expressed his grief.

“In Kutru, Bijapur, Maoists have carried out an IED blast on a security forces vehicle. In this heartbreaking incident, reports suggest that 8 of our jawans and a driver have been martyred. We pay our humble tributes to the martyrs and salute their supreme sacrifice. We stand united against the anti-democratic forces,” Baghel wrote on X

On April 26, 2023, 10 police personnel and a civilian driver lost their lives in a similar IED attack by Maoists in the neighbouring Dantewada district. “The extra security personnel have reached the area and combing operation in the nearby area is going on ,” said Sunderraj, adding that the identification of the jawans was going to be announced soon.

Bijapur is part of the Bastar division, which includes six other districts — Bastar, Dantewada, Kanker, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Sukma — that form the epicentre of Maoist insurgency. The government has deployed thousands of forces to battle the rebels across the insurgent-dominated region known as the “Red Corridor”. In 2024, security forces killed 219 Maoists in a string of high-profile encounters that aimed to push back extremists, take over their jungle hideouts and cripple their fortifications. The most killings have occurred in Bijapur, 61. The encounters are part of a broader government offensive against the Maoists, constructing roads and setting up camps in districts and areas that were once plagued by Left-wing extremism.