Basavaraju: B Tech degree holder who ‘engineered’ major Naxal attacks on security forces

Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, the powerful general secretary of CPI (Maoist) killed in an encounter along with 26 others on Wednesday, had masterminded several major attacks on security forces in Chhattisgarh and his death is a big blow to the armed movement, said officials.

Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Basavaraju, who carried a reward of Rs 1 crore on his head in Chhattisgarh, had been associated with the banned movement since 1970s and was elevated to the top post in CPI (Maoist) seven years ago, they said.

He was among the 27 dreaded Naxals killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region. The encounter took place in dense forests of Abhujmad on the tri-junction of Narayanpur-Bijapur-Dantewada districts.

The killing of long-hunted Maoist leader, who masterminded several major Naxalite attacks, marks the most significant achievement in efforts by the government and security forces to eliminate Left-wing extremism (LWE) from the country, the officials asserted.

Basavaraju, considered an expert in guerrilla warfare, took over as general secretary of the proscribed CPI (Maoist) in 2018, replacing Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganpathy, then aged 71, who stepped down from the position due to his deteriorating health condition and age-related issues.

Ganpathy was holding the position since 2004 when the Communist Party of India (Maoist) was formed with the merger of the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) (People's War) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) to lead the armed movement.

Since 2018, Maoists had executed several deadly attacks in Bastar, including in Tekalgudem (Bijapur) where 22 security personnel were killed in 2021, the 2020 Minpa ambush (Sukma) wherein 17 security personnel lost their lives and Shyamgiri attack (Dantewada) in April 2019 in which BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and four security personnel were killed.

A resident of Jiyannapeta village in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, Basavaraju holds a B Tech degree from the Regional Engineering College, Warangal, and was seen as an enigmatic leader of the outlawed Naxal outfit.

Known by the aliases of Prakash, Krishna, Vijay, Umesh and Kamlu, he joined the armed movement in the 1970s as a ground-level organiser, a police official told PTI.

In 1992, he was elected a member of the central committee of the erstwhile Communist Party of India Marxist-Leninist People's War, when Ganapathy became its general secretary, he said.

Before being elevated as general secretary, he headed the Central Military Commission (CMC) of Maoists for several years, police said.

Considered an expert in imparting military training and handling explosives and landmines, cadres of Basavaraju's team were equipped with sophisticated weapons. A three-layered ring of armed cadres he kept around him in forests had so far made him untraceable by security forces, they said.

Basavaraju's age and looks is still a matter of speculation with security agencies suggesting he was around 71 years of age. They just have a bundle of old photos of him of his young age.

For the last few years, security forces have been consistently carrying out intelligence-based operations in interiors of Bijapur and Sukma to target Central Committee and Polit Bureau members of Maoists and they finally succeeded in eliminating Basavaraju in dense jungles and tough terrain, which had kept him and his team safe so far, a police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Polit Bureau is the topmost decision-making body of CPI (Maoist) and Basavaraju was a member of it. Wednesday's encounter was part of an operation launched three days ago to corner Central Committee and Polit Bureau members of the banned outfit, the officer said.

The encounter took place following 70-hour-long combing by security forces in dense forests of Abhujmad.