Final Offensive: 14 Maoists Gunned Down as 2026 Deadline Looms

The jungles of Bastar are witnessing the endgame of a decades-long insurgency. In a coordinated strike over the last 48 hours, security forces in Chhattisgarh gunned down 14 Maoists in twin encounters across Sukma and Bijapur districts. Among the dead is Barse Deva, a notorious area commander with a ₹5 lakh bounty, implicated in the 2021 Tekalguda massacre that killed 22 jawans. This operation isn't routine; it’s part of a frantic acceleration of "Operation Sankalp," the state's final push to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah's ambitious deadline to eradicate Left Wing Extremism (LWE) by March 31, 2026.

The Context (How We Got Here)

For years, the Maoist conflict was a stalemate of attrition. That changed in late 2025 with the launch of Operation Sankalp, a strategy pivoting from containment to elimination. The operation has established forward operating bases deep in "liberated zones," forcing Maoist leadership into shrinking pockets. The twin encounters—one in the Thulthuli forest of Sukma and another in the dense intrepid terrain of Bijapur—were intelligence-led precision strikes. This aggressive posture comes just months before the March 2026 deadline, a timeline that critics call unrealistic but security forces are treating as a command.

The Key Players (Who & So What)

Barse Deva (The Target): His neutralization is a tactical victory. As a key commander of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), he orchestrated IED ambushes and recruitment. His death decapitates the local leadership structure in Sukma, potentially disrupting the Maoist's upcoming "Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign" (TCOC).
Amit Shah (The Architect): The Home Minister’s "March 2026" deadline has turned the anti-Naxal grid into a pressure cooker. The surge in encounters—and surrenders—is directly linked to this political mandate to declare victory before the next election cycle.
The Bastar Police (The Force): Led by units like the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and CRPF’s CoBRA commandos, the local police have shifted from defensive patrolling to offensive "seek and destroy" missions, leveraging better intel from surrendered cadres.

The BIGSTORY Reframe

While mainstream media focuses on the "body count," the deeper story is the "Surrender Paradox." As kinetic operations intensify, there is a simultaneous, less visible wave of surrenders. However, questions remain about the "quality" of these surrenders. Are top leaders giving up, or is the state padding numbers with low-level militia to show progress? The death of hardcore ideologues like Barse Deva suggests that the leadership core is choosing to fight to the death, while the foot soldiers are fleeing—a fragmentation that makes the insurgency less coherent but perhaps more desperate and unpredictable.

Furthermore, the "Deadline Pressure" raises ethical and operational risks. Historically, deadlines in counter-insurgency lead to "false positives"—fake encounters or the targeting of tribal sympathizers as combatants. Is the rush to meet March 2026 compromising the distinction between a Maoist combatant and a tribal villager caught in the crossfire?

The Implications (Why This Changes Things)

The elimination of mid-level commanders like Deva disrupts the Maoist supply chain and intelligence network. It forces the remaining Politburo leaders to retreat further into the Abujhmad forest or cross into Odisha/Telangana, potentially spreading the conflict before it ends. For the local Adivasi population, the "final push" means more boots on the ground, more checkpoints, and the terrifying prospect of being caught in the final crossfire of a dying war.

The Closing Question (Now, Think About This)

If the government declares Naxalism "eradicated" in March 2026, will the ideology die with the commanders, or will the grievances that fueled it simply find a new name?

FAQs

Who was Barse Deva, the Maoist killed in Chhattisgarh? Barse Deva was a notorious Maoist area commander with a bounty of ₹5 lakh on his head. He was a key figure in the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) and was allegedly involved in several major attacks on security forces, including the 2021 Tekalguda massacre that resulted in the deaths of 22 jawans.

What is Operation Sankalp in Chhattisgarh? Operation Sankalp is a strategic counter-insurgency campaign launched by the Indian government and Chhattisgarh police. Its objective is to eliminate Left Wing Extremism (Naxalism) from the state by March 31, 2026, a deadline set by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The operation involves aggressive offensive strikes and deep penetration into Maoist strongholds.

How many Maoists were killed in the recent encounters in January 2026? A total of 14 Maoists were killed in two separate encounters conducted by security forces in the Sukma and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh between January 2 and 3, 2026.

Sources

News Coverage

Context & Strategy

Counter-Terrorism Chhattisgarh

Brajesh Mishra Associate Editor

Brajesh Mishra is an Associate Editor at BIGSTORY NETWORK, specializing in daily news from India with a keen focus on AI, technology, and the automobile sector. He brings sharp editorial judgment and a passion for delivering accurate, engaging, and timely stories to a diverse audience.