Top Maoist leader amongst 26 killed in Chhattisgarh encounter in a gun battle with security forces

A veteran of the Maoist movement since the 1970s, Basavaraju is among the most elusive Maoist leaders in the country 

Raipur: The general secretary of CPI (Maoist), Nambala Keshav Rao, also known as Basavaraju, was likely killed. This occurred in Wednesday’s encounter in Abujhmad forest, police officers said.

Police said Basavaraju could be among the 26 Maoists killed. They died in a gun battle with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region on Wednesday. Sharma reported that more than 26 Maoists have been killed. A search operation is ongoing, the state home minister Vijay Sharma stated.

“The operation has been going on for the last 72 hours. More than 26 Maoists were killed in the encounter on Wednesday,” said Sharma.

Basavaraju had a bounty of Rs 1.5 cr

Basavaraju,71, was appointed the new general secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) in 2018. Basavaraju has been a veteran of the Maoist movement since the 1970s. He is among the most elusive Maoist leaders in the country. There is a reward of ₹1.5 crore on his head.

Basavaraju hails from Jiyannapeta village in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. He is a BTech graduate from the Regional Engineering College in Warangal. Over the years, he has used multiple aliases, including Ganganna, Prakash, Krishna, Vijay, Darapu Narasimha Reddy, and Narasimha.

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Law enforcement agencies do not have his recent photograph. Investigations have revealed that he owns no property in his hometown. He left his hometown in the late 1970s. His primary areas of operation are reported to be Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and parts of Maharashtra.

He played a crucial role in forming the Communist Party of India Marxist-Leninist People’s War (CPIMLPW). This occurred in Andhra Pradesh in 1980.

In 1987, Basavaraju reportedly received training in ambush tactics and explosives. He was accompanied by other senior Maoist leaders such as Ganapathy and the late Kishanji. Former Tamil rebels conducted this training in the forests of Abujhmad, Bastar.

His rise within the party ranks continued in 1992, when he was elected to the central committee of CPIMLPW. Later, in 2004, CPIMLPW merged with the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) to form CPI (Maoist). Following this merger, Basavaraju was appointed secretary of the Central Military Commission.

According to sources, Basavaraju was camping in Abujhmaad for at least eight years. 

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