Apr 24, 2025 10:41 AM IST The operation is part of a broader offensive aimed at dismantling the top leadership and operational capabilities of Maoist factions active in the Bastar and adjoining regions. A joint team of security forces have gunned down three Maoists in an ongoing encounter on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border in the wee hours of Thursday, officials said. Paramilitary personnel during an anti-Maoist operation. (AP File Photo) Around 7,000 police personnel of three states — Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Maharashtra — have cordoned off the area as the encounter is still underway with ultras affiliated to CPI (Maoist)’s Battalion Number 1, Telangana State Committee, and the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee. The gunfight broke out during a joint combing operation carried out by elite security units in a densely forested area near the inter-state border. “According to initial reports, at least three Maoists have been confirmed dead, and their bodies have been recovered from the site of the encounter. The death toll may rise as the operation continues. A heavy deployment of security personnel is …