A hill with an altitude of 5,000 feet that was once a hub of Maoists along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border has been reclaimed by the security forces after driving out the extremists during a nine-day-long intense operation, official sources said.

The rugged Karregutta hill located in a dense forest was a den of Maoist leaders like Hidma, Deva, Damodar, Azad and Sujata, but has now been taken over by security forces, with the Tricolour hoisted atop it.

The operation, one of the biggest counter-insurgency actions launched in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, involved around 24,000 security personnel belonging to different units, including the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters, Special Task Force (STF), all units of the state police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its elite Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA).

The forces completed the climb over a span of nine days to take control of this strategic high point that is at an altitude of nearly 5,000 feet, sources said on Thursday.

CRPF director-general G.P. Singh visited the site of the operation at Karregutta on Wednesday to oversee the progress.

Backed by helicopters and drones, the operation was launched on April 21 on the inaccessible terrain and dense forests of Karregutta and Durgamgutta hills spread across an area of around 800sqkm on both sides of the inter-state border abutting the districts of Bijapur (Chhattisgarh) and Mulugu (Telangana).

The area where the operation is underway is located amid a range of hills surrounded by dense forests 450km from Raipur. It is considered to be a safe hideout for the Maoists’ PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army) battalion No. 1, the strongest military formation of the rebels.

The sources said supplies for the security forces were being air-dropped by helicopters and it had now become clear that this was India’s largest anti-Naxal operation, covering a stretch of dense forest and hills.

The operation is part of the government’s action against Maoists. Union home minister Amit Shah has set a deadline of March 31, 2026, to wipe out Maoists from the country.

The Chhattisgarh government has categorically stated that no peace talks will be held with the Maoists. “A clear message has been sent out — those who surrender will be rehabilitated under the government’s surrender policy, but those who choose the path of violence will be dealt with strictly,” an officer said.

Inputs suggest more than 500 Maoists belonging to PLGA battalion No. 1, the Telangana State Committe and the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of the Maoists led by their top leaders like Hidma, Barse Deva and Damodar had gathered for a meeting.