A lethal blow to Maoist/Naxal insurgency has yielded positive results for Indian security forces with the neutralising of Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, the general secretary of the proscribed outfit of the Communist Party of India (Maoist)–CPI (Maoist). The positive results of combating Maoist insurgency are aligned with the larger objective of internal security for wiping off the Maoist menace in India on or before March 31, 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah lauded the efforts of security forces and agencies on the completion of Operation Black Forest in the battle to eliminate Maoism. In the operation in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh on May 22, 2025, 27 dreaded Maoists including Basavaraju were killed. He was the most dreaded Maoist commander who carried a bounty of Rs 1.5 crore.
Who was Basavaraju?
Basavaraju was 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. He was responsible for the Dantewada massacre in 2010, where 76 CRPF personnel were killed. In 2013, he dastardly attacked a convoy of political leaders in Jhiram Ghati, Darbha Valley in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu narrowly escaped an assassination attempt orchestrated by Basavaraju in the Alipiri bomb blast in 2003. 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.
The security forces are aware that the dreaded Maoists would regroup and attack, probably under the leadership of Madvi Hidma, the elusive Maoist commander of Battalion No 1. The security forces have earlier been in hot pursuit of Hidma and are vigilant and focused on eliminating the top brass of Maoists
What were Operation Black Forest and Operation Kagar?
On April 21, 2025, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Special Task Force and the District Reserve Guard (DRG) launched the largest and most significant mission of its kind against Naxals. The Chief of the CRPF Gyanendra Pratap Singh confirmed that security forces completed the operation in the Karreguttalu Hills between the borders of the states of Chhattisgarh and Telangana, facing severe weather conditions and retrieving 28 bodies of the 31 killed Naxalites.
The operation resulted in the elimination of 31 hardcore Maoists and the destruction of the integrated headquarters of several key Maoist outfits, including PLGA Battalion Number 1, DKSZC, TSC, and CRC. These hubs served as major training centres and arms manufacturing units for the insurgents. The seized materials included 336 IEDs, 818 BGL shells, 894 bundles of Cardex explosives, weapons manufacturing machines, and large quantities of explosives.
Operation Kagar was launched on May 19 especially to track the movement of senior Maoist commanders in the rugged, forested tri-junction of Narayanpur, Bijapur, and Dantewada. Several senior-level Maoist leaders from the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) and the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) were either killed or seriously injured. Abujhmad region, earlier a stronghold of Maoists that was impenetrable due to its treacherous terrain stands sooner or later within the control of security forces.
Nailing Down Basavaraju
As per the Hindustan Times report, the senior police officials of the Narayanpur Anti-Naxal wing scanned interrogation reports of surrendered Maoists, combing through details for clues that could reveal the patterns of senior Maoist leaders’ shelter and movements — especially those of Basavaraju, a top commander long protected by the People Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA)’s elusive Company No 7. The surrendered cadres of Company 7, trained to protect leaders like Basavaraju, were interrogated thoroughly by Narayanpur police.
The Maoists returned fire from an elevated position but the undeterred DRG teams climbed the rocky rise under cover of bullets. Further exchange of fire took place for around 30 minutes. As the smoke cleared and the search began, a former Maoist-turned-DRG jawan emerged to identify Basavarju. Thus, the Operation Kagar ended an era of Red Terror
The four elite units of DRG were mobilised from bordering Bijapur, Dantewada and Narayanpur districts. A DRG jawan got a whiff of Maoist presence when a Maoist sentry was patrolling nearby. A scuffle ensued, firing of a gunshot marked an intense gunfight between security forces and Maoists. From a small plateau, the Maoists quickly regrouped and formed a defensive circle around a man the DRG immediately suspected was of high value. From their elevated position, the Maoists returned fire. But DRG teams, undeterred, climbed the rocky rise under cover of bullets. Further exchange of fire took place for around 30 minutes. As the smoke cleared and the search began, a former Maoist-turned-DRG jawan emerged to identify Basavarju. Thus, the Operation Kagar ended an era of Red Terror.
Status of Maoists – On the downhill!
Earlier, the Maoists used to control from Tirupati to Pasupati in the early 2000s. Now it is not so the case. According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the number of Maoist-affected districts reduced from 126 to 90 in April 2018, 70 in July 2021, and further to 38 in April 2024. Out of the total Naxalism-affected districts, the number of most affected districts has reduced from 12 to 6, which include four districts from Chhattisgarh (Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur, and Sukma), one from Jharkhand (West Singhbhum), and one from Maharashtra (Gadchiroli). Incidents of violence by Maoists which reached its highest level of 1936 in 2010 have reduced to 374 in 2024 i.e. a reduction of 81%. The total number of deaths (civilians + security forces) has reduced by 85% during this period from 1005 deaths in 2010 to 150 in 2024.
Engineering graduate Basavaraju joined the People’s War Group in the 1980s and received guerrilla training from the LTTE. He was responsible for the Dantewada massacre in 2010 in which 76 CRPF personnel were killed. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu narrowly escaped an assassination attempt orchestrated by Basavaraju in the Alipiri bomb blast in 2003
Conclusion
The killing of Basavaraju is a huge setback to Maoists and their operations. The security forces are aware that the dreaded Maoists would regroup and attack, probably under the leadership of Madvi Hidma, the elusive Maoist commander of Battalion No 1. Security forces have earlier been in hot pursuit of Hidma. As the members of the Central Committee and Politburo of CPI (Maoist) are ageing or either neutralised by security forces, the Maoist cadre likewise is disoriented and surrendering before the security forces, the Maoist movement in India is losing its vigour and steam in its operations. The security forces are ever vigilant and focused on eliminating the top brass of Maoist formations and bringing the much-needed focus on development in Maoist-affected districts by building roads, improving mobile connectivity, and providing skilled education to tribal youths in Maoist-affected areas.
–The writer is Assistant Professor, ICFAI School of Liberal Arts, ICFAI University, Jaipur. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
