Top Maoist leader Basavaraju killed when India descends on rebels

A senior Maoist leader was killed by fighting Indian security forces in the central state of Chhatisgarh.

Nambala Keshava Rao, who is also known for several nicknames, including Basavaraju, was among 27 rebels killed on Wednesday, India Minister Amit Shah said. It is also reported that a police officer died in the fighting.

According to chess, for the first time in three decades, Maoist of RAW’s seniority was killed by government forces.

Parts of the Chhattisgarh have watched a long -standing rebel from rebels who have said they have been overlooked by governments for decades. The Indian government swore to end its rebels by the end of March 2026.

RAW, a training engineer, was the Secretary General of the Disabled Communist Party of India (Maoist). He was in the most desirable list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) – the law enforcement bodies in India.

Vivekanand Sinha, a senior police officer at Chhattisgarh, said the skirmish in which RAW and the others had died in the area of ​​Narayayajanpur after intelligence that senior Maoist leaders had been in the area.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to X that he “is proud of our strength for this remarkable success.”

In the meantime, the Communist Party of India has condemned the killings and called for an independent investigation.

Last month, the Indian government launched a large -scale military operation – known as Montenegro – aimed at the group.

Shah said on Wednesday that 54 rebels had been arrested so far, and 84 have surrendered to the United States of Chhatisgarh, Telangana and Maharashtra as a result.

The operation started after the Maoists said they were ready to talk with the government if he stopped his offensive and withdrew his troops. Chhattisgarh employees said every dialogue should be unconditional.

The Maoists are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedun. Their riots began in the state of West Bengal in the late 1960s and has since spread to more than one -third of 600 districts in India.

Rebels control large areas of several states in the Red Corridor extending from northeast to Central India.

The main military and police offensives in recent years have pushed the rebels back to their forest fortresses and the levels of violence have fallen.

But the clashes between security forces and rebels are still common, killing dozens of people every year.

A repression of security forces killed about 287 rebels last year – the vast majority in the Chhatisgarh – according to the government. More than 10,000 people are thought to have died since the 60s.