2 min readNew DelhiFeb 19, 2026 04:03 AM IST
A month ahead of the Centre’s March 2026 deadline to eliminate Left Wing Extremism, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has identified a residual presence of only about 300 active Maoist operatives, concentrated mainly along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border and in pockets of Jharkhand.
A source in the CRPF said among the 300 active operatives, four are Central Committee Members (CCM); Ganapati, Devuji, Malla Raja Reddy and Misir Besra.
“Till last year, there were 20 CCM members, but now there are only four and security forces are working round the clock to nab them. To nab Devuji and junior cadre Kesa Sodhi, around 2,000 security personnel led by the CRPF launched an extensive operation — ‘KGH 2’ — on Tuesday evening along with the state police at Chhattisgarh-Telangana border,” a source said, adding that the security personnel have spread across in areas such as Nambi and Korgotalu Hills (KGH).
According to the CRPF, 370 Maoists were neutralised in joint operations by the security personnel last year. “2,391 Maoists/OGWs/sympathisers surrendered and 1,175 were apprehended,” a CRPF official said.
Earlier this month, Home Ministry Amit Shah informed Parliament that LWE violence has come down by 88 per cent between 2010 and 2025. Resultant deaths of civilians and security personnel have also come down by 90 per cent from 1,005 in 2010 to 100 in 2025, Shah had said.
Apart from demolishing LWE memorials in Chhattisgarh, the security forces are currently conducting area domination in all these affected areas and demolishing their hideouts.
In a communication sent last month to the states concerned and Sports ministry, the MHA asked the DGPs to shift from crisis management to welfare and development as a part of a public outreach programme. The directive follows deliberations at the DG-IG Conference held in Raipur in November last year.
