14 Naxalites killed in encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband
Gariaband (PTI): At least 14 Naxalites, including a senior cadre, were killed in an encounter with security forces along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border in Gariaband district, police said on Tuesday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Maoists were killed in a joint operation by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), SoG Odisha and Chhattisgarh Police along the inter-state border.
He said that with the resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of the security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today.
“Another mighty blow to Naxalism. Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat. The CRPF, SoG Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police neutralised 14 Naxalites in a joint operation along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border," he said in a post on X.
According to the police, two women Naxalites were killed, and a CoBRA jawan was injured in an encounter during the joint operation earlier on Monday.
An official said a fresh exchange of fire took place late on Monday night and early Tuesday morning in a forest under the Mainpur police station area along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border, in which 12 more Naxalites were gunned down.
With this, the toll in the operation was at 14, he said.
Gariaband Superintendent of Police Nikhil Rakhecha, in a statement, said that of the deceased, one has been identified as Jairam alias Chalpati, a central committee member of Maoist, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore.
He said the identity of the remaining killed cadres was yet to be ascertained.
The official said intermittent exchange of fire was still underway in the area, and the number of Maoist casualties may increase.
A joint team of security personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), CoBRA from Chhattisgarh and Special Operation Group (SOG) from Odisha are involved in the operation, the official said.
He said the operation was launched on the night of January 19 based on intelligence about the presence of Maoists in the Kularighat reserve forest of Chhattisgarh, just 5 km from the border of Odisha's Nuapada district.
Two women Naxalites were neutralised during the operation on Monday, and a large cache of firearms, ammunition and IEDs, including a self-loading rifle, were recovered from the encounter site, the official said.
Hailing the security forces, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said that under the double-engine government (BJP government at the Centre and the state), Chhattisgarh will get rid of the menace by March 2026.
Strengthening the resolve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to end Naxalism in the country and state by March 2026, the security forces have been continuously achieving success and moving rapidly towards fulfilling the target, he said.
"This success of the soldiers is commendable. I salute their bravery", Sai said.
With this encounter, 40 Naxalites have been killed in separate encounters in the state so far this year.
On January 16, twelve Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Bijapur district. Later, Maoists, in a statement, admitted that 18 cadres were killed in the January 16 gunfight.
Last year, 219 Naxalites were neutralised by security forces in separate encounters in the state.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
