Top Maoist Leader Basavaraju Killed in Chhattisgarh Operation; Amit Shah Calls It a ‘Landmark Achievement’

Amit Shah Calls It a ‘Landmark Achievement’: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that 27 feared Naxals were killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, including the movement's main figure and leader, CPI-Maoist general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao, also known as Basavaraju.

He added that the security forces have neutralized a general secretary-ranked leader for the first time in India's thirty-year fight against naxalism.

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"A landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate Naxalism. Today, in an operation in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, our security forces have neutralized 27 dreaded Maoists, including Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, the general secretary of CPI-Maoist, topmost leader, and the backbone of the Naxal movement," Shah wrote on X.

Lauding the "brave security forces and agencies for this major achievement," Shah stated that he was happy to announce that at the conclusion of Operation Black Forest there were 54 arrested Naxalites and an additional 84 surrendered Naxalites in Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Maharashtra.

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"The Modi government is resolved to eliminate Naxalism before the 31st of March 2026," he said.

Officials stated Basavaraju was around 60 years old. The encounter occurred in the dense forests of Abhujmad in the tri-junction of Narayanpur-Bijapur-Dantewada districts.

The operation was launched two days prior, involved personnel of DRG from Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Kondagaon, and was initiated after intelligence inputs on the presence of central committee/politburo members of the Maoists, along with senior members of the Maad division and PLGA (People's Liberation Guerilla Army) members.

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