Encounter in Chhattisgarh! Woman maoist shot dead by security forces
Banu was in-charge of the Maoists' media team and hailed from Warangal district of Telangana. Sources said the body of Banu, an INSAS rifle, arms and ammunition and other items of daily use were recovered from the site of the encounter. So far in 2025, 119 Maoists have been killed in various encounters in the Bastar range. Last week, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma had confirmed the death of a top Maoist leader in an encounter in Sukma district.
Raipur: A woman Maoist, identified as Renuka alias Banu, was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Monday, police said. Dantewada SP Gaurav Rai said that at around 9 am, an encounter took place with the team that went out for an anti-Naxal operation.
Gun Battle in Bastar
The forest located on the border of Dantewada and Bijapur districts in Bastar region, in which Renuka alias Banu was killed. The woman carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh on her head. He said that the body of a woman Naxal has been recovered from the encounter site so far, along with an INSAS rifle. The operation was led by a team of security forces under the District Reserve Guard (DRG) on an anti-Maoist operation in the Chhattisgarh-Karnataka state border areas of Dantewada and Bijapur districts. They were assisted by police personnel from the Geedam police station bordering the district, the Bhairamgarh police station in Bijapur district of Karnataka and the border villages of Nelgoda, Akeli and Belnar in Telangana.
119 Maoists killed in 2025 So Far
According to sources, Banu was in-charge of the Naxals' media team and hailed from Warangal district of Telangana. Sources said the body of Banu, an INSAS rifle, arms and ammunition and other items of daily use were recovered from the site of the encounter. So far in 2025, 119 Maoists have been killed in various encounters in the Bastar range. Last week, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma had confirmed the death of a top Maoist leader in an encounter in Sukma district. The Maoist leader has been identified as Jagdish who carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head. The slain Naxal was earlier involved in the Jheeram Ghati incident, in which top Congress leaders of Chhattisgarh were killed, and also in the Narayanpur incident, in which several security personnel were killed.
16 Maoists were killed Last week
The incident took place after security forces killed 16 Maoists in a major encounter in Kerlapal area of Sukma district on Saturday and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition. After the encounter, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao reiterated the government's commitment to end armed Naxalism.
Encounter in Chhattisgarh
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has resolved to eliminate armed Naxalism from the country by March 2026 and our security forces are working in that direction. With the bravery and courage with which our security forces are working, we will eliminate Naxalism in the given time," he said. Earlier, Sukma SP Kiran Chavan confirmed the recovery of bodies of 16 Maoists from the site and said, "Two of our jawans were injured during the operation and they are being taken for medical treatment." He said security forces have recovered a large number of sophisticated weapons from the area.
