197 Naxalites killed in 4 months, know how Maoists are being wiped out year after year

Security forces have killed 27 Naxalites including top Maoist Basavaraju in Chhattisgarh. The death of a Maoist extremist with a bounty of Rs 1 crore is being considered a big setback for the Naxalites. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has claimed that by March 2026, Maoists will be wiped out from the country. Maoist violence has suffered a major setback in the campaign against Maoists during the last decade. In the first four months of 2025 alone, security forces have killed 197 hardcore Naxalites, while last year security forces killed 296 Maoists.

According to the data of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), there has been a huge decline in Naxal activities and violence in the last decade and to rein in Naxalites, the security forces have been strengthened and provided basic facilities.

Decline in Naxalite violence in the last decade

• Districts severely affected by Maoist violence: 35 in 2014 → only 6 in 2025
• Total number of Naxal-affected districts: 126 in 2014 → reduced to 18 in 2025
• Police stations with Naxal incidents: 330 in 2014 (in 76 districts) → 151 in 2024 (in 42 districts)
• Martyrdom of security personnel: 88 in 2014 → reduced to 19 in 2024
• in encounters: 63 in 2014 → Total 2,089 by 2025
• Surrendered Naxalites: 928 in 2024 → 718 in the first four months of 2025

Year   Number of Naxalites killed

2014    63
2015    110
2016    250
2017    152
2018    231
2019    154
2020    134
2021    128
2022    66
2023    57
2024    296
2025    197

Strategy made to surround the Naxalites

The government has significantly strengthened the security infrastructure in Naxal-affected areas. So far, 320 security camps have been set up. 68 night-landing helipads have been built, making quick deployment possible. The number of fortified police stations has increased from 66 in 2014 to 555 in 2025.

Who is the top Maoist leader left now?

The remaining top Naxal leaders include Muppala Lakshmana Rao, also known as Ganapathy, Ramanna, Srinivas and Shekhar. Around 74 years old, he is known to carry a Sten or a carbine and currently serves as an advisor and senior member (CMCM, CCM, PBM) of the CPI (Maoist). He hails from Birpur village under Sarangpur police station limits in Telangana's Karimnagar district.

Another prominent figure is Mallojula Venugopal, also known as Vivek, Bhupathi, Venu, Sonu and Abhay, who is around 68 years old. He is a senior central committee member (CCM, PBM, CRBM) and currently serves as the spokesperson. He hails from Peddapalli village of Thangapalli mandalam in Rajanna Sircilla district of Telangana. Mishir Besra, also known as Bhaskar or Surnimal, around 65, is another senior leader serving as both CCM and PBM. He is from Madhunadihi village under the limits of Pirtand police station in Giridih district of Jharkhand.

Mallojula Venugopal and Chandari Yadav are among the top leaders currently leading the group. Apart from these figures, around 12 other Maoists are believed to be part of the Central Committee and Military Commission, which are acting as the main leadership behind the Naxalite movement.