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While security forces harden up efforts in forests and jungles in Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Maharashtra, top Maoist leaders having bounty are under the radar.
he Central government, over the past one year, has been targeting leadership of Naxals to hit the brain of the Naxalism. (PTI)
The war on Naxalism has reached the turning point as the Central Government has shifted gear to accelerate its elimination. The Central government, over the past one year, has been targeting leadership of Naxals to hit the brain of the Naxalism. While security forces harden up efforts in forests and jungles in Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Maharashtra, top Maoist leaders having bounty are under the radar.
April 16, 2024, was a day that delivered a body blow to CPI (Maoist). The Maoist encounter in the Kanker district left 29 Maoists dead, with three senior commanders of the group including Shankar Rao, Lalita and Vinod Gawde. They collectively carried a ransom of Rs 24 lakh on their head. It marked the highest casualty in an operation carried out in Chhattisgarh till date. This marked the growing intensity of the government’s counter-insurgency operations, with targeted strikes aimed at dismantling the leadership.
Later in the year, on September 3, 2024, another major encounter unfolded on the border between Dantewada and Bijapur districts in Chhattisgarh. Security forces gunned down nine Maoists, whose combined bounties were worth Rs 60 lakh. Among the dead was Macherla Yesobu, also known as ‘Dada Ranadev’, who had been part of the Naxal movement since 1988. His bounty was Rs 25 lakh. The government’s concentrated effort to target such long-standing, high-ranking members of the Naxalite organisation reflected a strategic pivot.
On December 2, 2024, the security forces struck again in Telangana’s Mulugu district. Seven CPI (Maoist) members, including Kursam Mangu, were killed in an exchange of fire. Kursam Mangu, also known as Bhadru or Papanna, had a bounty of Rs 20 lakh on his head. His killing further brought to the fore the fact that the government was relentless in hunting down Maoist leaders with bounties.
The year 2025 was not off to a good start for the Maoist leadership either. Last week only, security forces eliminated Bade Chokka Rao, the state committee secretary of the CPI (Maoist) in Telangana. He was killed in Bijapur district in an operation. Rao was on the government’s radar for years and was one of the most-wanted leaders in Telangana and Chhattisgarh, with a bounty of Rs 50 lakh on his head.
Pratap Reddy, a senior Maoist leading the Odisha state committee and carrying a Rs 1 crore bounty, was killed in a major operation along with two women and 11 others on Tuesday. The 14 Maoists were eliminated in a joint operation with Chhattisgarh Police.
Top three left
While these encounters were hailed as victories for security forces, the Naxals’ top leadership remained largely intact. Among the key figures identified by the police are notable leaders like Nambala Keshava Rao, alias Basavaraj, who serves as the general secretary of the CPI (Maoist). With a bounty of Rs 1.50 crore on his head, Basavaraj is still active and managing to evade capture. Similarly, Madvi Hidma, another Maoist leader wanted with a bounty of Rs 1 crore, also continued to slip through the authorities’ fingers in Bastar. Additionally, there was Ganapathy, the former general secretary of the CPI (Maoist), who had a staggering bounty of Rs 2.50 crore on his head. Although he resigned in 2018, his influence and involvement in the Naxal movement were far from over.