Chhattisgarh DGP Arun Dev Gautam on May 22 said that all the 27 Maoists killed in the encounter in the Narayanpur district of the State on May 21 have been identified. The CPI (Maoist) general secretary was among the killed.
“All of them (neutralised Maoists) have been identified. There will be a press briefing in Raipur. You know very well who Basava Raju (Naxal leader) was. He was the topmost leader of Naxalism,” Gautam told reporters.
Gautam, along with IG Bastar P Sundarraj and other officials, inspected the bodies of the Maoists and the weapons recovered from them. The recovered arms and ammunition include BGLs, carbines, INSAS, AK 47, SLRs, .303 rifles and other firearms.
“This is the resolve of our Home Minister. It is good if it happens before that,” the DGP said when asked about the resolve of the Centre to eradicate Naxalism from all over India by March 21, 2026.
Earlier in the day, IG Bastar P Sundarraj said that Basavaraju had a direct or indirect role in all the attacks of the Maoists in the Left-Wing Extremism-affected States in the last few years, as he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Maoists.
“In the last two to three years, he had been the general secretary of CPI (Maoist). In many attacks against the members of the security forces and elected representatives, he had an active role in the conspiracy and planning. He hails from Andhra Pradesh, Srikakulam district, and was around 70 years old. He was a B.Tech graduate. We are collecting more information on him and other Maoists killed in the operation,” Sundarraj told ANI.
“The security forces carried out this operation very tactically, which resulted in the death of CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju… This is a great achievement for the security forces… Peace and normalcy will be restored in the area, and the people of the country hope that Naxalism will be eradicated. Peace and normalcy will prevail in the area,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the efforts of India’s security forces after 27 Maoists, including top CPI-Maoist leader Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, were killed in a major operation in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Modi said, “Proud of our forces for this remarkable success. Our Government is committed to eliminating the menace of Maoism and ensuring a life of peace and progress for our people.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that this is the first time in three decades of India’s battle against Naxalism that a General Secretary-ranked leader has been neutralised by the security forcesNoting that Basavaraju was the backbone of the Naxal movement, Amit Shah said that 54 Naxalites have been arrested and that 84 Naxalites have surrendered in Chhattisgarh, after the completion of Operation Black Forest.
(With inputs from ANI)
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