metro india news  I raipur

Top Maoist leader Basava Raju was among at least 27 members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) killed in an encounter which lasted for over 50 hours, took place along the Narayanpur-Bijapur border with security forces in Abujhmad area of Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Wednesday morning. This comes days after anti-Naxal operations in Karregutta hills on Chhattisgarh-Telangana border left 31 Maoists dead.

One jawan from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was killed during the encounter. Inspector General of Police for Bastar Range, Sundarraj P said, “One DRG team member was martyred while confronting the attack. A few other personnel sustained injuries during the encounter. The search operation is ongoing.”

According to sources, the operation by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) from four districts of Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Kondagaon was undertaken based on information that a senior Maoist leader was hiding in a specific area in Abujhmad. The Abujhmad is unsurveyed land larger than the state of Goa. While a large part of it is in Narayanpur, it also extends to Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker and Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah hailed the encounter with Maoists. Speaking about the encounter, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said: “The operations are mainly carried out by DRG. I salute their bravery. From the beginning we are appealing them to surrender… there is no need to keep repeating it.”

This comes less than a month after security forces undertook a major anti-Naxal operation codenamed ‘Black Forest’ in and around Kareguttalu hills on Chhattisgarh-Telangana border. Although the encounter was called off after 21 days, top officials claimed that key Maoist leadership and the dreaded Battalion 1 of their armed wing People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army took a heavy hit. In his post on X, the home minister  Amit Shah said:

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.

This is the first time in three decades of Bharat's battle against Naxalism that a general secretary-ranked leader has been neutralized by our forces. I applaud our brave security forces and agencies for this major breakthrough. Also glad to share that after completion of Operation Black Forest, 54 Naxalites have been arrested and 84 Naxalites have surrendered in Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. The Modi government is resolved to eliminate Naxalism before the 31st of March 2026.

During the 21-day-long operation, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police neutralised 31 Maoists carrying a reward of Rs 1.72 crore. 214 Maoist hideouts and bunkers were destroyed, Improvised Explosive Devices, BGL shells, detonators and explosive material were seized and nearly 12,000 kilograms of food supplies were also recovered. Earlier this week, 24 Maoists, including 14 with a combined bounty of Rs 28.50 lakh on their heads, surrendered in the Bijapur district.