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The Wire
20-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
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.
Hindustan Times
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Maoists admit to losses, 350 cadres killed last year
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) has admitted to significant losses, acknowledging that 357 of its cadres were killed in the past year and that 'improper implementation' of their secretive tactics were to blame for the government having succeeded in its Operation Kagaar. Maoists admit to losses, 350 cadres killed last year The admission, contained in a 22-page document dated June 23 and circulated by the party's Central Committee, offers a rare official acknowledgment of massive losses and strategic failure from a left-wing extremist movement that the government has vowed to uproot by April, 2026. The most significant setback was the death of Nambala Kesava Rao, the general secretary of the outfit, on May 21. Police officials confirmed the document was distributed among cadres and sympathisers following strategic discussions after the killing of Rao, who was known as Basvaraju. The Maoist leadership attributed their setbacks to 'improper implementation of secret methods of functioning, rules of guerrilla war and tactics formulated by the Central Committee.' The internal document, seen by Hindustan Times, provides a detailed breakdown of casualties that the party itself acknowledges. Of the 357 dead, the document states 136 were women, with losses spread across their operational zones: Dandakaranya/Bastar in Chhattisgarh (281), Telangana (23), Odisha (20), Bihar-Jharkhand (14), Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-north Chhattisgarh region (8), Andhra-Odisha Special Zone (9), Western Ghats (1), and Punjab (1). The document categorises these admitted deaths with unusual specificity: 269 in encirclement attacks, 80 in what they term 'fake encounters,' four from ill health and improper treatment, and one in an accident. The impact was spread over organisational hierarchy too: four Central Committee members including Kesava Rao, 16 state committee leaders, 23 district committee leaders, 83 area committee members, 138 party members, 17 People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) members, and six from organisational wings too were killed. Police records, however, suggest even higher casualties than what the Maoists admit, with officials claiming 217 Maoists were killed in 2024 alone and approximately 460 by mid-2025. The setbacks have prompted the rebels to take to a pivot, adopting what they call 'flexible guerrilla war' tactics that emphasise constant mobility and avoiding direct confrontation with superior forces. The Maoist document explicitly calls for abandoning previous approaches, referencing circulars from the Central Committee and Politburo from February and August 2004. The document states: 'We must be decentralised, class struggle must be made in coordination of legal-illegal, open-secret forms of struggle and organisation.' The document outlines new tactics using metaphors, stating: 'The guerrilla war goes as per the tactics like 'breeze' and 'flowing water.'' It explains that like a breeze, cadres must maintain 'constant mobility instead of staying in one place,' while the flowing water approach means avoiding 'decisive wars with the enemy that is many times stronger.' The document asserts that the government's attempts 'to eliminate the revolutionary movement before March 31, 2026 should be defeated by strictly following the tactics formulated by the central committee and politburo.' While the document claims PLGA forces 'eliminated 75 enemy armed forces and injured 130 and seized few weapons in the past one year' through booby traps, IEDs and ambushes, police officials describe a very different reality. Vivekanand Sinha, additional director general for Anti-Naxal Operations in Chhattisgarh, said: 'Facing a financial crisis, they've been pushed onto the back foot. Their formations have weakened, and they're now blending in with local villagers. They've become highly suspicious of everyone, which has unfortunately led to a rise in the killing of civilians.' Intelligence officers report that battalions in Bastar have been broken into smaller units and pushed into inaccessible areas around Indravati National Park, with many rebels abandoning military attire to live among villagers, a person aware of the matter said, asking not to be named. Security forces estimate Maoist cadre strength in Bastar has dropped from several thousand to just a few hundred. A senior intelligence officer said a separate Politburo circular issued approximately a month ago stated 'the time was not favourable for rebellion,' instructing all cadres to go underground and break large formations into small units to avoid detection. The shift was confirmed in an interview by Rupesh, a senior CPI (Maoist) cadre, with local journalist Vikas Tiwari, according to police officials aware of the matter. Rupesh reportedly admitted that senior leaders 'have been moved to isolated areas and placed alone, disguised in rural attire, blending in with villagers to avoid detection.' Tiwari confirmed the interview to Hindustan Times. Close to 20,000 security forces have been deployed across Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra for anti-Naxal operations, according to police officials. The intelligence official quoted above said that to compensate for reduced numbers, Maoists have enhanced perimeter vigilance and are using villagers as spotters and information carriers, though this tactical shift is not explicitly acknowledged in the June document. Security officials also report an increase in attacks on suspected police informers, with six villagers killed in June alone by Maoists. Intelligence inputs indicate this tactic is being used to conduct reconnaissance and identify suspected informers, though the document does not directly address civilian targeting. A security official said: 'The political operatives are openly mingling with villagers, often disguised as common civilians, participating in meetings and even staying in villages for extended periods to avoid detection.' Despite acknowledging massive casualties and strategic failures, the document maintains defiance. It asserts that central and state governments cannot eliminate the revolutionary movement by March 31, 2026, and calls for mounting pressure through civil society groups across 9-10 states to halt Operation Kagar. The party has called for observing 'martyrs' week' from July 28 to August 3 across their areas of influence.
Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Indian Express
Basavaraju's body cremated, police say no clear legal claimant turned up to collect it
The body of Nambala Kesava Rao alias Basavaraju, the 70-year-old Maoist chief killed in Chhattisgarh's Abujhmad last week, was cremated alongside the bodies of seven other Naxals, with police claiming that no 'clear legal claimant' turned up to collect them. According to a police officer, 'Five groups of claimants (including for Basavaraju) reached Narayanpur but couldn't produce valid and satisfactory documents to prove their relationship to the deceased. They also couldn't provide valid and legal documents in support of their claim to take the bodies to Andhra Pradesh/Telangana. The state extended all basic and humanitarian courtesy and followed due legal procedure in cremating the unclaimed bodies.' Basavaraju's nephew Nabla Janardhan Rao, however, told the media, 'I went to the police on Sunday. They said nothing… just paperwork was going on. In the evening, they took my details and left. On Monday morning, I went to the hospital and then to the SP's office. At 1 pm, they asked me for my Aadhaar card. Then they said a foul stench was emanating from the body and that we couldn't take it. I asked to see the body, but they did not allow it.' In an official press statement, the Bastar police said, 'Out of 27 bodies recovered from the Kudmel-Kalhaja-Jatloor encounter, 20 have been handed over to the family members after verifying their claims.' 'Whereas there was no clear legal claimant for the remaining seven bodies, including that of top-ranked Naxal cadre CPI Maoist General Secretary Basavaraju. All those bodies… were cremated in Narayanpur as per the legal procedure with due order from the executive magistrate,' it added. The police said Basavaraju had at least 258 criminal cases against him, wherein he had direct and indirect involvement. 'In the press note released by CPI Maoist with regard to the Abhujmad encounter, they have admitted that 28 cadres, including their General Secretary Basavaraju, died in the exchange of fire. In the press release, the illegal and banned Maoist outfit was also trying to instigate their supporters to organise rallies and meetings throughout the country to glorify the death of their cruel and dreadful leadership, who were responsible for the death of thousands and thousands of innocent citizens, tribals, women, children and security personnel. Police and intelligence agencies are keeping a strict vigilance over the activities of the underground Maoist cadres as well as their overground workers and supporters,' it said.
