In a significant blow to the Naxal insurgency, a joint operation by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jharkhand Police resulted in the elimination of eight Maoists, including three high-ranking members, in the dense Lugu forest of Bokaro district on Monday. The operation, led by the CRPF’s 209 Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), targeted a group of 20–25 armed Naxals following precise intelligence inputs.

The encounter, which began around 5:30 AM under the Lalpania police station limits, saw a fierce gunfight between the security forces and the insurgents. Among the Naxals neutralized were one Central Committee Member, one Special Area Committee Member, and one Zonal Committee Member, dealing a severe setback to the Communist Party of India (Maoist), a banned organization leading the insurgency in India’s “Red Corridor.” The operation also led to the recovery of a substantial arms cache, including rifles, explosives, and other weaponry, underscoring the scale of the threat posed by the group.

The CoBRA unit, specially trained for jungle warfare and counter-insurgency operations, has been instrumental in tackling the Naxal menace since its inception in 2009. This operation marks another success in the Indian government’s ongoing efforts to curb the decades-long insurgency, which has claimed thousands of lives since its peak in the late 2000s. According to official data, the Naxal influence has significantly reduced from 180 affected districts in the late 2000s to about 38 districts in 2025, largely due to sustained security operations and development initiatives in affected regions.

Jharkhand Police and CRPF officials hailed the operation as a testament to the coordination between forces and their commitment to ensuring national security. No casualties were reported among the security personnel involved in the operation. The encounter comes amid renewed efforts by the government to address the root causes of the insurgency, such as poverty and lack of development, while maintaining a strong security presence in the region.