Hyderabad: Ending 21 days of a marathon manhunt for Maoists in hideouts atop the Karregutta hill range near the the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border, the Union and Chhattisgarh governments on Wednesday (May 14) evening claimed that 31 armed Maoists have been killed by security forces.Jitendra Kumar Yadav, the Bijapur district superintendent of police under whose jurisdiction the operation took place, told The Wire that the slain Maoists included two divisional committee members.He said it was unclear whether Madvi Hidma – the commander of the dreaded battalion number one of Peoples’ Guerilla Army (PLGA) of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) (CPI-Maoist) – was killed because all bodies could not be recovered due to the difficult terrain.However, Yadav said that since Hidma and the other senior leaders of the CPI (Maoist) were believed to be present at the spot, if some of them were killed, it was possible that their bodies may have been carried away by their comrades while fleeing.The list of slain Maoists released by the Chhattisgarh police showed that three women members of the PLGA who carried a reward of Rs. eight lakh each on their heads were also killed.The other persons who were killed included five area committee members and two people’s party committee members.Central committee of CPI (Maoist) urges Union government to come forward for talksMeanwhile, the central committee of CPI (Maoist) has urged the Union government to come forward for talks with the outfit to end the mayhem unleashed by the security forces in the name of Operation Kagar.In a letter to newspaper offices here, Abhay, the official spokesman of the committee, referred to the ceasefire announced by the party to pave the way for talks. He welcomed the interest shown by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and his predecessor in the talks.It may be recalled that the Telangana State committee of CPI (Maoist) had also announced unilateral ceasefire and urged the Union government to initiate peace talks but the Union minister of state for home Bandi Sanjay Kumar had rejected it.Responding to the condition of the Union government that the Maoists lay down weapons first, Abhay said the organisational structure of the party demanded a democratic approach to taking such decisions. Therefore, the decision has to be made by the central committee and ratified by the core committee.However, the twin committees will be in a position to meet only if the government announced a ceasefire and ensured a conducive atmosphere for talks, he said.Quick to acknowledge the success of the police forces of Central and Chhattisgarh governments at Karregutta was Union home minister Amit Shah.“Achieving a historic success in the resolve of #NaxalFreeBharat, security forces killed 31 notorious naxalites in Kurraguttalu Hills (KGH) on Chhattisgarh-Telangana border in the biggest ever operation against Naxalism,” said Shah in a post on X.Prime Minister Narendra Modi also praised the security forces for the operation’s success.“This success of the security forces shows that our campaign towards rooting out Naxalism is moving in the right direction. We are fully committed to establishing peace in the Naxal-affected areas and connecting them with the mainstream of development,” said Modi in a post on X.The director general of CRPF G.P. Singh and Chhattisgarh DGP Arun Dev Gautam addressed a joint press conference at Bijapur to confirm the killing of 31 Maoists, of whom 28 bodies were identified. Together, they carried a reward of Rs. 1.72 crore on their heads.‘Operation Kagar to wipe out Maoist-perpetrated violence by March 31 next year’The officials said there were 21 encounters with the Maoists in 21 days.The operation included destroying four Maoist technical units which were involved in manufacture of weapons and improvised explosive devices along with seizure of automatic and semi-automatic firearms. The security forces recovered 35 weapons, over 450 IEDs, detonators, explosive material and about 12,000 kilograms of logistical support such as medical equipment, electrical components and Maoist publicity material.CRPF DG Singh reiterated the Union government’s determination to wipe out Maoist-perpetrated violence by March 31 next year, as envisaged by its ‘Operation Kagar’.He said the central forces had achieved more than what was contemplated when the operation was launched on January 1 last year.“We are confident and happy that this is the beginning of the end”, said Singh.Singh also said that since 2014, anti-Naxalite efforts had yielded results and were further intensified to make them more focused in 2019 when the central paramilitary forces began working “shoulder to shoulder” with the state police.The number of districts severely affected by Naxalite activities had dropped from 35 in 2014 to just six in 2025. Overall, the total number of affected districts had come down from 126 to 18. Violent incidents decreased from 1,080 in 2014 to 374 in 2024. The number of security personnel killed also fell from 287 in 2014 to 19 in 2024, said the officials.Security forces have eliminated 2,089 Maoists since 2014. As many as 928 Naxalites had surrendered in 2024 and 718 so far this year. Also, 320 security camps and 68 night landing helipads had been established as part of a drive to flush out Maoists from their hideouts, said Singh.Also Read: Chhattisgarh: Union Govt Must Declare Ceasefire With Maoists; Affected Citizens Must Get a VoiceMeanwhile, the national investigation agency (NIA) has registered 17 FIRs since the operation at Karregutta started. The NIA will probe the financial trail and logistic support behind the Naxalite network.A senior police official who did not wish to be named, said that the massive anti-Naxalite operation with nearly 25,000 personnel at Karregutta and adjoining hills started on April 21, was given a three day break in between and on May 14 the security forces were finally withdrawn.The security personnel suffered dehydration trekking the inhospitable conditions without shade while scaling Karregutta when it was decided to suspend the operation for three days. Thereafter, the troops were air dropped at strategic locations to move forward, avoiding landmines and hidden IEDs, he added.Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai had earlier said that this was the biggest anti-Maoist operation in the country.“I salute the courage of our forces, operating in scorching heat, rugged terrain, without shade or water,” said Sai.17 women, 14 men killed, 18 security personnel sustain injuriesThe 31 Maoists killed included 17 women and 14 men. Eighteen security personnel sustained injuries during the encounter and eight of them were hurt in IED blasts. Swift evacuation was arranged to airlift by helicopters and admit them to hospitals for treatment without delay.The operation had followed inputs received by multiple security agencies that top Maoist leaders and commanders, including Hidma, were spotted in Karregutta hills. Thousands of security personnel were mobilised to carry out a fortnight-long operation. A meeting of senior officials of CRPF and Telangana and Chhattisgarh police was held to prepare a strategy.While simultaneously combing Karregutta, a separate search was taken up in the forest near Wajedu in Mulug district of Telangana where three commandos of Greyhounds wing of police were killed in an ambush by Maoists on May 7. Two security personnel had lost their limbs in separate blasts.