India, March 11 -- Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma has said most paramilitary forces deployed in the Bastar region are likely to be withdrawn by March 31, 2027, with the Union government setting March 31, 2026, deadline for ending the Left-wing insurgency.

"March 31, 2026, has been fixed as the deadline to end armed Maoism, and it has also been decided that the forces will start returning by March 31, 2027. Some may go back even earlier," Sharma told the state assembly on Tuesday

He said discussions have been held to set March 31, 2027, as the timeline for withdrawal of central forces, though the schedule may vary slightly. "After that, all the central forces would also leave."

Sharma told the House that the police depa...