Top Maoist Leader Basava Raju Killed in Abujhmad Encounter
Nambala Keshav Rao, aka Basava Raju, the General Secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and a prominent figure in Left Wing Extremism, has been killed in an encounter with security forces in the Abujhmad region of Chhattisgarh. His death, occurring as one of 26 Naxals neutralized in the operation, marks a significant development in the country’s efforts against Maoist insurgency.
Key Maoist Leader with Violent Legacy
Aged around 70 and hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Basava Raju was a highly educated individual with a B.Tech degree from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal (formerly REC Warangal), an institution that was a known hub for Maoist ideology during his graduation period. He joined the CPI(ML) People’s War Group in the early 1980s and rose through the ranks, eventually succeeding Ganapathy as the CPI (Maoist) General Secretary in November 2018, prior to which he headed the group's Central Military Commission.
Basava Raju was an explosives expert, responsible for preparing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) used in numerous deadly ambushes against security forces. He was implicated in several high-profile attacks, including the 2010 Chintalnar massacre where 76 CRPF personnel were killed, the 2013 Jhiram Ghati attack on a Congress convoy, and the 2018 killing of TDP MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao and ex-MLA Siveri Soma. He was designated as the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) most wanted man, carrying a reward of over ₹1 crore.
Encounter in Abujhmad Region
The operation leading to Basava Raju's death was conducted by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) from four districts—Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, and Kondagaon. It was launched based on specific intelligence indicating the presence of a senior Maoist leader within a particular area of Abujhmad, a vast and largely unsurveyed forested terrain spanning across Chhattisgarh and into Maharashtra. The elimination of Basava Raju is a substantial setback for the CPI (Maoist) leadership and its operational capabilities. His death removes a figure central to planning and execution of numerous violent attacks. This also highlights the continued efforts by security forces to counter Left Wing Extremism in Maoist infested regions.
