2 days ago
Six Maoists Including Battalion One Chief Shot Dead in Bastar Ahead of Martyrdom Week
Hyderabad: After a brief lull in their gun battle, the police shot dead six Maoists, including four women, on Friday (July 18) in an alleged encounter close to where party supremo Nambala Kesava Rao fell to their bullets in Abhujmad forest of Narayanpur district in Chhattisgarh on May 21.
Thursday's encounter, which claimed the lives of six members of the dreaded Battalion One of People's Liberation Guerilla Army, the most dangerous unit of CPI (Maoist), dealt another deadly blow to the party. It took place after uneasy calm in the contiguous forest of Chhattisgarh since the previous one on June 7, when seven comrades, including a Central Committee member Sudhakar and two Telangana State committee members Bhaskar and Bandi Prakash, were shot down.
It was more than 24 hours after the encounter that the police declared the identity of the slain Maoists on Saturday evening. The Inspector General of Police of Bastar region, Sundarraj P, issued a press release saying the slain Maoists were identified as Rahul Punem alias Latchu Punem, commander of Battalion One of PLGA and a Bastar Divisional Committee member, and PLGA members Ungi Tati, Manisha, Tati Meena alias Choti, Harish and Kudam Budhri. An AK 47 assault rifle, a self-loading rifle and other arms and ammunition were recovered.
Battalion One is primarily used for ensuring the safe movement of senior Maoist leaders. The killing of Rahul Punem, who headed the battalion, is a significant setback for the party, the release said, adding that, with this encounter, the total number of Maoists killed in Bastar region in 2025 has gone up to 204.
Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Robinson Guria said that based on credible intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoist cadre in Pariya-Kakur jungles of Abhujmad, a joint operation was launched on July 17 by personnel of District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force and the Border Security Force.
On July 18, intermittent exchanges of fire took place between the Maoists and the security forces throughout the afternoon.
"We are in a decisive phase of eliminating Naxalism from Bastar. Those who are misled by its hollow ideology and continue to obstruct the region's development must surrender. This is the only way to secure their lives and reclaim their dignity. If not, they will face inevitable consequences," said Robinson.
The Inspector General Sundarraj P. said "a determined and effective campaign is underway across Bastar division against the banned and illegal CPI (Maoist) outfit. In just the first half of 2005, as many as 204 Maoists have been neutralised in various encounters. Bastar police is committed to continuing this momentum".
It is significant that the latest encounter took place days ahead of the "martyrdom week" observed by Maoists every year from July 28-August 3 to commemorate those who died in the party's armed struggle.
CPI (Maoist) recently released a press note and a 24-page booklet in Gondi and English calling for the success of the week to counter the dwindling strength of the party and honour the fallen comrades. The note highlighted Bastar as the fulcrum of Dandakaranya, where the outfit suffered its biggest loss with 281 fatalities reported in this area alone in the past year.
Overall, the party claimed that 357 Naxalites were killed in encounters since the launch of 'Operation Kagar' on January 1 last year. They included 136 women, four central committee members and 15 state committee members.
The encounters ran alongside sustained counter-insurgency efforts and attractive rehabilitation packages. The combined strategy has significantly impacted the Maoist movement.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai last week in a post on X said that 1,521 Maoists have surrendered in the state in the past 15 months. On an average, three Maoists have surrendered every day during the period. He called it "a strong indicator of the increasing reach and trust of the government in the Maoist affected regions".
Sai also wrote "this is not just a surrender, it is a victory of trust – the trust our government has built by taking development to the remotest corners through people-centric schemes. Today, it's not the bullets but the voice of development that can be heard in Bastar".
Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran S. Chavan said that all surrendered Maoists will be provided the incentive amount and other facilities at the rate of Rs 50,000 each under the new rehabilitation policy of the government.
The stick and carrot policy of Chhattisgarh government had a cascading effect on adjoining Telangana too where surrenders have spiked. In view of the onslaught against them in Chhattisgarh, members of the cadre, who had origins in Telangana but had been posted in Chhattisgarh for party work, looked up to political leaders in Telangana to negotiate their surrender before the police. About 390 such cadre members surrendered this year in Telangana.
A top Maoist couple from Chhattisgarh surrendered itself to Ambar Kumar Jha, Commissioner of Police of Ramagundam in Telangana, four days ago. Atram Latchanna, a member of the Telangana State committee of CPI (Maoist) and his wife Atram Aruna had surrendered to him. They hailed from villages under the jurisdictional limits of the commissionerate.
While Latchanna led the party activities in Chhattisgarh for over three decades and maintained close contact with top leadership of the party, Aruna worked as the divisional committee secretary of the party in Bastar.
The couple was driven in a car by the police from Chhattisgarh when they expressed a desire to surrender to police in Telangana. Latchanna told media persons that he was asked to face the risk when he approached the party leadership to let him surrender.
Another couple from Chhattisgarh – Sanjeev, member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee's secretariat, and his wife Perugula Parvathi who was also a member of the committee, surrendered before Commissioner of Police of Rachakonda, G. Sudhir Babu, on July 17. The police official announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh each to the couple.
Sanjeev, who spent over four-and-a-half decades underground, was a key member of Jana Natya Mandali (JNM), the cultural troupe of CPI (Maoist) founded by late balladeer Gadar.
The couple attracted tribals of Chhattisgarh towards Naxalism with their songs and dances in Hindi, Telugu and Koya languages.
Sanjeev had joined the JNM under the leadership of Gadar in 1980 and continued in the organisation till 1986. Thereafter, he joined the ranks of People's War to propagate the ideology of the party through song and dance in villages.
After his marriage to Parvathi, the couple was involved in training the cadre of JNM. It took up performances on behalf of CPI (Maoist) after the merger of People's War with the party.
Sanjeev survived two encounters with police during his underground life. He was once picked up by the police in a decoy operation when he was admitted for treatment of an injury at the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in Hyderabad in the early nineties. Then, Additional Superintendent of Police of Warangal A.R. Anuradha, dressed as a doctor and went to his hospital bed to take him into custody on receiving information about his admission.
