Raipur: In one of the biggest ever operations, at least 26 Naxals, including their top leader Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavraj, were killed in an encounter with security forces Chhattisgarh.
Basavraj, who was general secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head.
Basavraj, who has been part of the Naxalite movement since the 1970s, was being hunted by security agencies across India.
Alleged to be the mastermind of the deadly 2019 Gadchiroli attack, in which 15 police personnel were killed, Basavraj was eliminated in an encounter carried out by District Reserve Guard (DRG) forces.
The latest major operation in a series of action against Maoists has been ongoing for more than 50 hours.
“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 is also Chhattisgarh’s Home minister.
He added that combing operations are still underway.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai saluted the ‘brave jawans’.
“A Naxal operation has been underway since yesterday, in which our DRG personnel are actively involved. The operation is still ongoing, and the exact details will be shared once it is completed. We salute the courage of our brave jawans,” the CM said.
Last week, 15 Naxalites were killed in another massive operation on Karreguttalu Hill (KGH), near the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.