Ten Maoists, including Manoj alias Modem Balakrishna, a central committee member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), were killed by security forces during an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Gariyaband district on Thursday (September 11, 2025). Manoj carried a bounty of ₹1 crore, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said.
Confirming Manoj’s death, Gariyaband Superintendent of Police Nikhil Rakhecha said an anti-Maoist operation was launched and till 7.20 p.m. on Thursday (September 11, 2025), 10 bodies were recovered and search operations were under way.
The police said that security personnel from the Special Task Force (STF, a unit of the State police), E-30 (a unit of the Gariyaband Police) and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force) were involved in the operation.
While Mr. Rakhecha did not divulge further details on Manoj, information received earlier this year suggested he had joined the Naxal movement in 1983 and was around 65 years old when he was gunned down on Thursday (September 11, 2025). He went by other aliases such as Balanna, Ramachander and Bhaskar and and was a central committee member as well as the in-charge of the CPI (Maoist)‘s western bureau of the Odisha State Committee (OSC).
