In a major victory for Indian security forces, Nambala Keshava Rao, alias Basavaraju, the general secretary and supreme commander of the CPI (Maoist), has been killed in an encounter in the dense Abujhmad forests of Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district. The operation, codenamed 'Operation Kagar', which lasted 50 hours, also resulted in the deaths of 26 other Maoists. This marks a significant blow to the Maoist insurgency in India, as Basavaraju was the most-wanted Naxal in the country, carrying a bounty of ₹1.5 crore on his head.
Basavaraju, aged around 70, was the ideological and tactical brain behind some of the deadliest Maoist attacks in India. Born in 1955 in Jiyannapet village in Andhra Pradesh, he graduated in engineering from NIT Warangal before joining the People's War Group in the early 1980s. He reportedly received guerrilla training from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1987 and went on to mastermind numerous Improvised Explosive Device (IED) ambushes and attacks across Maoist-affected regions. Some of the most infamous operations he orchestrated include the 2010 Dantewada massacre, where 76 CRPF personnel were killed, the 2013 Jeeram Ghati ambush, which claimed 27 lives including senior Congress leaders, and the 2003 Alipiri bomb blast, an assassination attempt on then Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu.
In 2018, Basavaraju took over as the General Secretary of CPI (Maoist), succeeding Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy, and led the movement's strategic operations from underground hideouts, evading multiple intelligence dragnets over the years. He was instrumental in the formation of the CPI-ML (People's War) in 1980 and rose through the ranks to become part of its central committee in 1992. After the 2004 merger that formed the CPI (Maoist), he was appointed secretary of the central military commission, where he oversaw armed operations and strategy.
'Operation Kagar' was launched on May 19 by joint District Reserve Guard (DRG) teams of Chhattisgarh Police, supported by the Special Task Force (STF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The offensive followed weeks of coordinated intelligence-gathering that tracked the movement of senior Maoist commanders in the rugged, forested tri-junction of Narayanpur, Bijapur, and Dantewada. Security officials recovered a significant cache of arms, ammunition, and strategic documents from the site, calling it a serious blow to the Maoist logistical and command structure in central India.
The security forces did pay a price for this high-stakes mission as one District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel was killed during the fierce gunfight. Despite the treacherous terrain and formidable resistance, Chhattisgarh's DRG and allied forces pressed on, reaffirming their commitment to dismantling Maoist strongholds in the Abujhmad region, considered the last bastion of the movement.
The death of Basavaraju has created a major void in CPI (Maoist)'s top ranks, especially within apex decision-making bodies - central committee and politburo. Focus now shifts to succession, with two seniors emerging as frontrunners: Mallojula Venugopal alias Sonu, and Thippiri Tirupati alias Devji. Analysts suggest that Basavaraju's death could further fragment an already weakened insurgency, as the next general secretary will inherit a demoralized cadre split between calls for peace talks, urban operations, and continued armed struggle.
The Indian government has hailed the encounter as a landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate Naxalism. Home Minister Amit Shah affirmed the Centre's commitment to eradicating left-wing extremism, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the government's resolve to eliminate the menace of Maoism and ensure peace and progress for the people.
