In Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, on Monday, Naxals used an IED to blow up a car carrying eight District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawans and one driver, according to Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P, who was quoted by news agency PTI.

According to reports, the explosion happened in the Bijapur district on the Bedre-Kutru Road. Following a combined operation, the IG said DRG Dantewada's jawans were scheduled to return in a Scorpio. In addition to IG Bastar, the combined operation was carried out in Dantewada, Narayanpur and Bijapur.

According to an official cited by PTI, the Maoist violence on the state police unit DRG is the largest Naxalite offensive on security forces in the past two years. Ten police officers and a civilian driver were killed on April 26, 2023, when Naxals blew up a convoy of security forces in the nearby Dantewada district.

On the microblogging site X, Home Minister Amit Shah expressed his heartfelt sadness over the death of DRG soldiers in the Bijapur IED explosion. Although words cannot adequately convey our sorrow, I promise our heroes' sacrifice will not be in vain. By March 2026, we will eradicate naxalism from India, Shah declared.

In a post on X, Chhattisgarh state minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed regret over the news of a driver and eight troops killed in an IED attack carried out by naxalites in Kutru, Bijapur district.

Naxalites are "frustrated with the ongoing naxal eradication campaign in Bastar and are perpetrating such cowardly acts out of frustration," said Chief Minister Sai, who also offered condolences to the families of the jawans.

Arun Sao, the deputy chief minister of Chhattisgarh, referred to the attack as "cowardly" and stated that the forces' death would not be in vain. According to the deputy chief minister, the administration will complete its pledge to rid Bastar of Naxalism by March 2026.

When a combined team of security officers went out on an anti-Naxalite operation on Saturday evening, a shootout broke out at a forest in south Abujhmaad at the boundary of Narayanpur and Dantewada districts, according to an official.

According to the official, four Naxalites were first discovered dead on Sunday, and one more was subsequently located. As per the official, this brought the total number of Naxalites killed in the gunfight with the security forces to five, including two women. Sannu Karam, the head constable of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), was also slain in the firefight. According to the official, a search was conducted in the surrounding area on Monday morning.

According to him, the operation, which began on Friday, featured DRG soldiers from four districts: Narayanpur, Bastar, Kondagaon and Dantewada, as well as the Special Task Force (STF). An engagement with security personnel in the Raipur division's Gariaband area on January 3 resulted in the death of a Naxalite. According to authorities, security agents shot and killed 219 Naxalites in various confrontations around the state last year.