Narayanpur/ New Delhi: Twenty-five Maoist cadre deployed on the protection of Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, were among the 27 ultras — along with the top Maoist himself — killed in an encounter with security forces in the Abhujhmad jungles of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, officers aware of the matter said on Thursday.
One member of the special zonal committee, Jangua Naveen, was also among those killed, they added.
“Twenty-five cadres of People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) company number 7 who were given responsibility of guarding Basavaraju were killed in the encounter. We believe they were about 35 in number and the rest of them managed to escape,” a senior officer said, requesting anonymity.
Company 7 of PLGA, meant for the protection of central committee members and general secretary, usually operates in the Abujhmad area, officers said.
“All Maoists killed in the encounter have been identified,” Chhattisgarh DGP Arun Dev Gautam said.
In all, 12 automatic weapons, three under barrel guns, four .303 and three 12 bore guns were also recovered.
Basavaraju, who was gunned down by the security forces on Wednesday morning at the Boker village within the Abhujmaad jungles, was hiding in that area for the past 8-10 days, officers said, adding it had become difficult for the 71-year-old general secretary of banned CPI (Maoist) to escape to neighbouring Telangana or Maharashtra.
A second senior officer claimed that there was local intel of Basavraju, who had camped in areas around Boker.
“The fierce gunfight happened in Boker where there are no motorable roads. It is a hilly spot. The gunfight site is almost 20-25 km from Bijapur and about 30-35 km from Narayanpur district headquarters,” the officer said.
“For the past 8-10 days, we had intel that Basavraju along with other central committee members were camping as they believed it was an interior area, and the forces would be unable to reach the spot. It took the DRG personnel two days to reach the spot of the encounter. Even after the gunfight, the forces had to use chopper services to bring back the 27 bodies,” the officer added.
The officer added that while senior Maoist cadres often flee to nearby Telangana and Maharashtra, the fact that security forces have recently built forward operating bases (FOB) right up to the Telangana border via Bijapur and up to Maharashtra border via Narayanpur may have made it difficult for the senior-most Maoist leader to flee to the two states.
“The security vacuum at different places has been filled in the last 5 months. For example, the recent 22-day operation at the Karreguttalu hills, where Maoists had set up a unified base around 6 months ago, was one such route through which they regularly used to enter Telangana whenever the forces were active in Chhattisgarh. That place and the route are no longer under their control,” the second officer said, adding that four battalions of DRG (around 1,100 personnel) had climbed up to Boker and laid cordons at different places to stop the senior Maoist cadres from fleeing.
IG Bastar P Sundarraj said Basavaraju had a direct or indirect role in all Maoist attacks in the LWE-affected states in the last few years, as he was the commander-in-chief of the central military commission (CMC) of Maoists.
“The security forces carried out this operation very tactically, which resulted in the death of CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju… This is a great achievement for the security forces,” the IG added.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai told reporters in Raipur that with the killing of Basavarju, the government has put the last nail in the coffin of left-wing extremism.
“For the first time in three decades, a Maoist of general secretary rank of the banned outfit has been neutralised. This is an extraordinary achievement and a clear indication that we have put the last nail in the coffin of Naxalism,” Sai said.
He added that security forces have neutralised more than 400 Maoists and arrested 1,422 others in the last one and a half years.
CoBRA commando, Maoist killed in Sukma
A CoBRA commando of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and a Maoist were killed in an encounter in Sukma district on Thursday, officials said.
The anti-Maoist operation, being led by the 210th battalion of CoBRA and also including personnel from Chhattisgarh DRG and STF, is ongoing in Tumrel village area of the district, officials added.
As soon as the forces reached the jungle, the Maoists opened firing and the encounter started. “After the firing stopped, body of a Maoist was recovered from the spot. Three CoBRA commandos sustained bullet injuries and later one succumbed to his injuries,” a statement from Sukma police said.
The deceased commando was identified as Mehul Solanki while the identity of the slain ultra is yet to be ascertained.