Who was Basava Raju, top Naxal commander killed in Operation ‘Black Forest’ in Chhattisgarh?

In a major anti-Naxal operation lasting over 50 hours, Indian security forces successfully killed top Maoist commander Basava Raju, also known as Nambala Keshava Rao, on Wednesday (May 21).

The development is significant because Basava was involved in many attacks on the forces. According to officials, at least 26 Naxals were killed in the Maad region of Narayanpur district in Chhattisgarh during the operation.

“More than 26 Naxalites, some of them probably top cadres, were killed. One supporter of the police was killed and a police jawan was injured in the action,” said Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who holds the home portfolio.

The encounter happened in the dense forests between Abhujmad and the Indravati National Park area.

Who Was Naxal Commander Nambala Keshava Rao?

Basava Raju was the main planner behind the Alipiri bomb attack on then-Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu on October 1, 2003. Naidu survived the assassination attempt but was injured by a series of landmine blasts set off by Naxalites. He broke his right hand and hurt his left collarbone.

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Naxal leader Basava Raju killed in encounter. Is this the end of the Maoist movement? At least 26 Naxalites killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh.

Raju also played a key role in the 2010 Dantewada attack that killed 76 CRPF personnel. He became the Supreme Commander of the Maoist party after top leader Ganapathi resigned in 2018.

Raju was known for creating guerrilla strategies for Naxal attacks and had expertise in planting IEDs. He studied engineering at Warangal REC and got involved in Naxalism during his M.Tech studies. His father was a school teacher.

Anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh 

The joint forces of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police have launched a 21-day Operation ‘ Black Forest’ from April 20 to May 11 to shatter the backbone of Naxals near Karreguttalu Hill (KGH) at the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.

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Last week, security forces killed 31 Naxalites, including 16 women in uniform, over 21 days in KGH.

The joint operation was conducted across the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, an area long considered a Naxalite stronghold.

During the 21 encounters in the difficult terrain of KGH, forces also recovered 35 weapons from the site.