Raipur: The body of Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, general secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), was cremated in Narayanpur district under official supervision, the Chhattisgarh Police said in a statement on Monday evening.
Basavaraju was killed in a gunfight with security forces in the dense Kudmel-Kalhaja-Jatloor forest area of Abujhmad on May 21 along with 26 other Maoists. Though Basavaraju’s brothers from Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh had claimed his body, the Chhattisgarh Police maintained that no legal claimants had come forward to claim his body.
“Following the operation, the authorities recovered the bodies of 27 Maoists. Of these, 20 were claimed by their family members and were handed over after due verification. However, no one came forward to claim the body of Basavaraju, who was carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore announced by the Chhattisgarh government, with additional reward from other states and central agencies,” the statement said.
“The cremation was carried out under the supervision of the executive magistrate after obtaining necessary legal orders. Notably, even the family of Kosi alias Hungi, one of the deceased cadres, requested local authorities to perform cremation in Narayanpur due to concerns over health hazards from decomposition,” the statement said.
Monday’s move comes days after the Andhra Pradesh High Court told the family members of two slain Maoist leaders, Basvaraju and Sajja Venkata Nageswara Rao alias Rajanna, to approach the Chhattisgarh Police to seek custody of their bodies. Basavaraju’s mother Bharatamma and Nageshwara Rao’s brother Sajja Srinivasa Rao had filed separate petitions to seek directions to the police to hand over their bodies for the final rites.
According to sources, authorities were apprehensive of an attempt by Left parties like the CPI and CPI(M) to use Basavaraju’s body to try and elevate their political existence that seems to be at stake. Both the parties have condemned Basavaraju’s killing, calling it a fake encounter. They even spoke of approaching the Supreme Court for his body to be handed over to the family.
“It was suspected that these parties would glorify him and his ideology through some sort of an event, once the body was handed over. Basavaraju, was previously the head of the Central Military Commission of the CPI (Maoist) and linked to over 250 criminal cases across various states. An AK-47 rifle which Basavaraju allegedly looted from security forces during the infamous 2010 Tadmetla ambush in Dantewada has also been recovered,” an official said.
The CPI (Maoist) has confirmed the death of its top leader in what it has called the “Gundekot Massacre”.
A statement released by its Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) on Monday, claims that the security forces were able to get to him due to intelligence leaks and betrayal by some. It also claimed Basavaraju was captured alive and executed. It has accused the government of violating a ceasefire previously proposed by Basavaraju.
