Top Maoist leader Basava Raju was among at least 27 members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) killed in an encounter with security forces in Abujhmad area of Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Wednesday morning.
One jawan from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was killed during the encounter.
Following 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.
Top Maoist leader Basava Raju
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.
The operations began on April 21, after security forces after multiple agencies received inputs that top Maoist leaders and commanders, including Hidma Madvi, were spotted on the Karregutta hills. A total of 31 Maoists were killed in the encounter. The Indian Express had found that a 16-year-old is among those killed.