New Delhi, February 18 About 300 Maoists, including four senior commanders, are on the radar of security forces as they intensify operations to meet the Union government's March 2026 deadline to eliminate Naxalism, officials said on Wednesday.
The top four members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) central committee include Misir Besra alias Bhaskar, Devji alias Kumbha Dada alias Chetan, Rammanna alias Ganpathi alias Laxman Rao, and Mallah Raja Reddy alias Sagar.
A major operation was launched on Tuesday along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border following intelligence inputs that Devji and his second-in-command, Kesa Sodhi, were present in the area.
Officials said that all the senior commanders, except Reddy – who is said to be hiding in Odisha – are operating in the region.
About 300 Naxals, including these four senior commanders, are among the last ones that security forces are looking for. Officials said that they should either surrender or the forces will eliminate them during intensified operations to meet the March 2026 deadline.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, in October 2025, had said that the districts most affected by Naxalism have been reduced to three – Bijapur, Sukma, and Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh.
In the category of Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected districts, the number has been reduced to 11 from 18, the ministry said in a statement.
The Narendra Modi government is committed to completely eradicating the Naxal menace by March 31, 2026, it said.