Who is Basavaraju, the top Maoist commander killed in Bastar encounter?
Known by several names, Nambala Keshava Rao earned a reputation as a strategist in Maoist operations and was adept at planning and executing guerrilla warfare
In a major achievement for the security forces, marking a defining moment in India’s decades-long battle against Naxalism, they neutralised Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju — general secretary of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) — in a fierce encounter in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh.
Basavaraju, the backbone of the Naxal movement in India, had taken over the outfit’s leadership in November 2018 when Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy stepped down on health grounds.
The successful operation followed a high-level intelligence input regarding the presence of Central Committee and Politburo members of the Maoist party in the region.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed the killing of Nambala Keshav Rao in a post on X, calling it a landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate Naxalism.
Also read: How Karregutta ops became the beginning of the end of Maoist leader Basava Raju
Early life, education
Born in 1955 in Jiyyannapeta village in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district, Basavaraju was the son of a school teacher.
He received his early education in his native village and completed high school in Talagam, his grandfather’s village located in the Tekkali revenue block. He then went on to pursue his Intermediate studies at Tekkali Junior College.
During his second year of undergraduate studies, he was admitted into the B.Tech program at the Regional Engineering College in Warangal, now known as the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Warangal.
Security officials report that it was around this time that he became involved with the Radical Students Union, the student wing of the then CPI (Marxist–Leninist) People’s War — a prominent Naxalite group founded by Kondapalli Seetharamaiah.
However, it wasn’t until 1984 that he fully committed to the CPI (M-L) People’s War, roping out of his M.Tech course to join the movement full-time.
Rise through ranks
Known by several names such as Gaganna, Basavraj, Prakash, Krishna, Vijay, Keshav, Raju and Umesh, Keshava Rao earned a reputation as a strategist in Maoist operations and was adept at planning and executing guerrilla warfare, maintaining links with arms dealers, and crafting military strategies.
In 1987, Basavaraju, along with other senior Maoist leaders such as Ganapathy and the late Kishanji, in guerrilla warfare and explosives from former LTTE fighters in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region.
Rao co-founded the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People's War in 1980 and continued to rise within the party ranks and became a Central Committee member in 1992.
Following the 2004 merger that formed the CPI (Maoist), he was appointed head of the Central Military Commission and became a Politburo member.
He succeeded Ganapathy as General Secretary of CPI (Maoist) in November 2018 and subsequently intensified operations, especially in the Dandakaranya region.
Also read: 26 Maoists killed in encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh
Master strategist
Known to always carry an AK-47, he was the mastermind behind some of the bloodiest Maoist offensives, including the 2010 Chintalnar massacre that killed 74 CRPF personnel and the 2013 Jhiram Ghati massacre that killed 27 people, including Congress leaders.
He was booked in several cases, including the 2003 Claymore mine attack on Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at Alipiri in Tirupati. He is also believed to be the brain behind the attack on Greyhounds police in October 2008 at Balimela on the Andhra-Odisha border, killing 37 police personnel.
The killing of Araku TDP MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao and ex-MLA Siveri Soma on September 23, 2018, by the Maoists is also said to be masterminded by Keshav Rao. As compared to his predecessor Ganapathy, Keshav Rao was considered more hardline in implementing party ideologies.
He was known for his aggressive nature and believed firmly in achieving goals through armed resistance. Known as a master military strategist, he carried a bounty of Rs. 1.5 crore bounty.
Underground life
Basavaraju allegedly stayed underground for nearly four decades. Residents of his native village reportedly said that he never returned to his village after joining the movement.
Law enforcement agencies have no recent photographs of him, and investigations have revealed that he owns no property in his hometown, which he left in the late 1970s. His primary areas of operation are reported to be Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and parts of Maharashtra.
According to security forces, Basavaraju had been operating out of Abhujmad for at least eight years.
Also read: ‘Historic breakthrough’ in making India Naxal-free: Shah on Karregutta ops
Historic victory
The top Naxal leader was eliminated by the security forces along with 26 other Naxalites in a fierce gunfight in the dense Abhujmad forests at the tri-junction of Narayanpur, Bijapur, and Dantewada districts.
Basavaraju, believed to be in his early seventies, had been involved in Naxalite activities for over four decades. It is the first time in three decades that security forces have neutralised a leader of such high rank.
COBRA commandos and Chhattisgarh police neutralised the Company-7 unit of the Maoists. Along with Rao, other top leaders killed included Madhu of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and Naveen, associated with the Maoist publication Jung.