On Wednesday morning, May 21, 2025, 27 members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), including its general secretary, Nambala Keshava Rao (alias Basavaraju), were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Abujhmad area of Narayanpur district, Chhattisgarh.
Basavaraja’s Death
The death of the 70-year-old leader is considered a landmark achievement in India’s fight against left-wing extremism, according to officials in the security establishment. In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Basavaraju was synonymous with the banned Maoist party. He hailed from Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh and was a student at the Regional Engineering College, Warangal.
It is believed that Basavaraju went underground in 1985 and had been leading major operations ever since, ultimately climbing the ranks of the People’s War Group. The People’s War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre merged to form the CPI (Maoist) in 2004.
Basavaraju’s death is a major blow to the CPI (Maoist) because he was the link between the northern and southern commands of the banned outfit. He was known to be an aggressive military commander who had presided over some of the most audacious and brutal attacks in the history of the Maoist movement. He was an expert in IEDs (landmines), military strategy, and had extensive knowledge of the area.
In a post on the social media platform X on Wednesday, Home Minister Amit Shah said, “A landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate Naxalism. Today, in an operation in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, our forces have neutralized 27 dreaded Maoists, including Nambala Keshava Rao, alias Basavaraju, the general secretary of CPI (Maoist), topmost leader, and the backbone of the Naxal movement. This is the first time in three decades of Bharat’s battle against Naxalism that a general secretary-ranked leader has been neutralized by our forces. I applaud our brave security forces and agencies for this major breakthrough.”
Anti-Maoist Operations
A series of anti-Maoist operations undertaken by security forces in Chhattisgarh in the recent past comes against the backdrop of a deadline set by Home Minister Amit Shah to eradicate left-wing extremism from the country by March 31, 2026. The Home Minister also stated that after the completion of Operation Black Forest, a total of 54 Naxalites have been arrested and 84 have surrendered in Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.
Referring to the Home Minister’s post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also shared his comments regarding the death of Basavaraju on social media platform X, stating, “Proud of our forces for this remarkable success. Our government is committed to eliminating the menace of Naxalism and ensuring a life of peace and progress for our people.”
However, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai had a different tone regarding the encounter, stating, “The operations are mainly carried out by the DRG. From the beginning, we have been appealing to them to surrender. There is no need to keep repeating it.”
