The 25 Maoists who died in Wednesday’s intense shootout that resulted in killing Communist Party of India (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur were part of his sophisticated protection team, officials announced on Thursday.
Zonal Committee Member Jangua Naveen Also Killed
Besides Basavaraju, Jangua Naveen, a special zonal committee member, also lost his life in the shootout.
The officials stated that the 25 Maoists who lost their lives in the attack belonged to People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army’s (PLGA) Company number 7 that was tasked with guarding the party general secretary and senior central committee members. These rebels generally operated in Abujhmad’s dense jungles.
Security Forces Estimate 35 Maoists Present
“Twenty-five cadres of People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) company number 7, who were given the responsibility of guarding Basavaraju, were killed in the encounter. We believe that they were about 35 in number and the rest of them managed to escape,” a senior police officer said.
Among the arms recovered at the site of the encounter were 12 automatic firearms and three under-barrel weapons. The operation was initiated after an intelligence input, a senior intelligence officer said.
Maoists Were Camping Near Water Sources
“Since Basavaraju and other senior leaders have a team of guards, they usually camp near water bodies in Abujhmad in summer. A local input came to police that the members of company number 7 were seen near Boter village after which the operation was launched,” said the intelligence officer.
The intelligence officer suggested that the first encounter started on Tuesday evening. “Basavaraju managed to escape from the first encounter spot but ran into another encounter around four kilometers away as the force had cordoned off a radius of 10 km,” said the officer.
It was in the second exchange of gunfire that he was killed around 3am on Wednesday. But it was only a few hours later on Wednesday morning that some surrendered Maoist cadres recognized Basavaraju’s body.
All 27 Maoists Identified: Police
Chhattisgarh director general of police Arun Dev Gautam asserted that all 27 Maoists who were gunned down in the encounter have been identified.
Bastar inspector general (IG) P Sundarraj averred that Basavaraju was directly or indirectly involved in every Maoist attack in the Left-Wing Extremism-hit states during the recent past.
“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… Peace and normalcy will be restored in the area, and the people of the country hope that Naxalism will be eradicated. Peace and normalcy will prevail in the area,” the IG said.
CM Hails Killing as ‘Last Nail in Naxalism’s Coffin’
Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai informed a press conference at state capital Raipur that Basavarju’s assassination was the proverbial last nail in the coffin of naxalism.
“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 in a press conference here.
Our government’s policy has been to respond to bullets with bullets and words with words, he said. Security forces have killed over 400 Naxalites and have arrested 1422 Naxalites in the past one and a half years.