Narayanpur: At least 27 Naxalites were killed in a major gunfight with security forces in the dense forests of Abhujmad, located at the tri-junction of Narayanpur, Bijapur, and Dantewada districts, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
One member of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a specialised unit of the Chhattisgarh Police, was killed in action, while several other personnel sustained injuries.
All injured personnel have received medical treatment and are reported to be in stable condition.
Senior police officials described the operation as a “historic success,” noting that a high-ranking Maoist leader was among those neutralized.
While police have not officially confirmed the identity of the deceased leader, sources suggest that Nambala Keshava Rao, also known as Basavaraju, the general secretary of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), is believed to be among the dead.
Basavaraju, reportedly in his late 60s, has been one of the most wanted figures in India’s internal security landscape.
The joint operation, which began two days ago, involved DRG teams from four districts — Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, and Kondagaon — and was based on specific intelligence inputs regarding the presence of Maoist Central Committee and Politburo members, as well as key leaders from the Maad Division and People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA).
“So far, bodies of 27 Naxalites and a cache of weapons have been recovered from the site,” a senior police officer said, adding that the search and sanitization operation in the forested area is still ongoing.
Earlier in the day, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who also holds the Home portfolio, confirmed that several top Maoist operatives were among those killed in the encounter.
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This operation marks one of the deadliest anti-Naxal actions in recent years. With this latest offensive, the total number of Naxalites killed in Chhattisgarh this year has reached 200, of which 183 have been neutralized in the Bastar region alone — a known Maoist stronghold.
Security forces have intensified counter-insurgency operations in Bastar amid efforts to weaken the Maoist network, which has been active in the region for decades.
