On Tuesday, February 17, 2026, nearly 2,000 security personnel led by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) started a major operation along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border. The mission, called “KGH-2,” aims to catch senior Maoist leaders in the Nambi and Korgotalu Hills area. A senior CRPF official said this is part of the Union Government’s plan to eliminate Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) from India by March 2026. The number of top Maoist leaders in the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) has dropped sharply. From 20 politburo and central committee members in January 2025, only four remain. Security forces are specifically searching for leaders named Ganapati, Devuji, Malla Raja Reddy, and Misir Besra. Currently, they are tracking central committee member Devji alias Chetan and a junior cadre named Kesa Sodhi. The CRPF leads government projects in Maoist-hit areas. Recently, the Chhattisgarh Government made CRPF camps “Integrated Centres” under the “Niyad Nellanar Yojna,” a big development program. The CRPF says Maoist-affected districts have fallen from 18 at the start of 2025 to eight by December. The force targets top Maoist leaders to weaken their operations. In 2025 alone, 12 senior Maoist leaders were neutralized and five surrendered due to strong operations. Overall, 370 Maoists were killed, 1,175 rebels or sympathizers were arrested, and 2,391 extremists surrendered in CRPF actions last year. The CRPF also created 61 forward bases in key areas to break Maoist supply lines and launch assaults. These include 32 bases in Chhattisgarh, 9 in Jharkhand, 4 each in Odisha and Maharashtra, 11 in Madhya Pradesh, and one in Telangana. The force said this strategy is crucial to fight and end Left-Wing Extremism. The operation is ongoing.