NEW DELHI: 22 Maoists were shot dead in a major encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Wednesday, as part of Operation SankalpIt was one of the largest anti-Maoist operations in the region’s history, and the clash took place in the dense Karregutta hill forests near the Telangana border.The gunfight broke out in the early hours and was part of an ongoing counter-insurgency push aimed at dismantling Maoist strongholds across the Bastar divisionA senior police official confirmed, “So far, bodies of 22 Maoists have been recovered and a search operation was underway in the area.”With this, the total number of Maoists eliminated under Operation Sankalp since April 21 has risen to 26.Operation Sankalp involves around 24,000 personnel drawn from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters, Special Task Force (STF), all units of the state police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and its elite CoBRA unit. The operation was launched following intelligence inputs about the presence of top Maoist cadres, particularly from the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), the Telangana State Committee, and the powerful battalion no. 1 of the Maoists.On April 24, security forces had gunned down three women Maoists from the PLGA battalion no. 1 in the same area. Each of them carried a bounty of Rs 8 lakh. A large quantity of arms, explosives, and other materials were recovered following that encounter. Another woman Maoist was killed on May 5 in the same forested region.According to the police, “The inputs suggest several senior-level Maoist cadres have either been killed or seriously injured during this operation, but their colleagues managed to drag them inside the forest.” Officials also revealed that hundreds of hideouts and underground bunkers have been destroyed, and a significant quantity of explosive materials, detonators, medicines, and supplies have been seized.The encounter came at a cost. At least six security personnel, including one from the CoBRA unit, were injured in separate pressure IED blasts in the region. All are currently hospitalised and reported to be out of danger.So far in 2025, 168 Maoists have been killed in various encounters across Chhattisgarh, with 151 of them in the Bastar division, which includes seven districts such as Bijapur.