By Rajnish Singh

New Delhi [India], June 9 (ANI): In a significant development towards achieving a Naxal-free India, there has been a 53 per cent drop in the incidents of Naxal violence over the last ten years between 2014 and 2024, compared to the decade before, government data suggests.

Between 2004 and 2014, the data mentions, there were 16,463 incidents of Naxal violence. However, from 2014 to 2024, the number dropped to 7,744.

As per the officials in the security establishment, the reduction in Naxal violence reflects 'the success of intensified counter-insurgency operations and strategic policies by security forces.'

The impact has also been seen in the number of casualties, as the deaths of security personnel fell by a dramatic 73 per cent, from 1,851 in 2004-2014 to 509 in 2014-2024. Similarly, civilian deaths declined by 70 per cent, dropping from 4,766 to 1,495 over the same period, 2024-2025.

The data also show that the trend continued strongly into 2024 and 2025. In 2024 alone, 290 Naxals were neutralised, 1,090 were arrested, and 881 surrendered. Among those neutralised were 18 top Naxal leaders, a major blow to the insurgent command structure.

In 2025 (till now), 226 Naxals have been killed, 418 arrested (including 2 Central Committee Members), and 896 have surrendered.

These figures highlight the continuing momentum of the government's efforts against Naxalism or Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). The coordinated actions of security forces and the surrender policy seem to be yielding long-term peace dividends in previously affected regions.

The government's aggressive anti-Naxal operations over the past few years have dealt a decisive blow to the insurgency's top leadership structure.

A total of 18 top Naxal leaders, many of them Central Committee Members (CCMs) and Politburo Members (PBMs), have been neutralised between 2019 and 2025. Many of these figures carried heavy cash bounties, ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.47 crore.

The most high-profile eliminations among them are Rukla Srinivas alias Ramtra (CCM) - reward of Rs 1.4 crore - neutralised in 2019; Buryari Sudhakar (CCM) - neutralised in 2019; Prashant Bose alias Kisan Da (PBM) - reward of Rs 1.47 crore - neutralised in 2021; Sheela Marandi (CCM) - neutralised in 2021; B.G. Krishnamurthy (CCM) - neutralised in 2021; Milind Teltumbde alias Deepak (CCM) - reward of Rs 50 lakh - neutralised in 2021; Yapa Narayan Rao alias Haribhushan (CCM) - neutralised in 2021; and Akkiraju Haragopal alias RK (CCM) - neutralised in 2021.

Besides, Vijay Arya, alias Jaspal (CCM), Mitlesh Mehta, alias Mitlesh Prasad (CCM), and Arun Kumar Bhattacharya, alias Kanchan (CCM), were neutralised in 2022.

Kudakam Sudarshan alias Anand (PBM) - carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore, Pramod Mishra (PBM) and Sanjay Deepak Rao (CCM) were neutralised in 2023.

In a major symbolic and operational breakthrough, Basav Raju, the General Secretary of CPI-Maoist, was neutralised in 2025 under the continuing offensive operations. With a bounty of over Rs 1 crore, Raju was the highest-ranking Maoist leader killed so far and a key ideologue behind the group's armed struggle.

Chalapathi Pratap Reddy (CCM), another top commander carrying a Rs 1 crore reward, was also eliminated in 2025, marking a significant collapse of Maoist central leadership.

These high-value neutralisations were carried out under coordinated intelligence-led operations, often with the support of local informants and sophisticated tracking techniques. (ANI)