Basavaraju's body cremated, police say no clear legal claimant turned up to collect it

Indian Express

27-05-2025

The body of Nambala Kesava Rao alias Basavaraju, the 70-year-old Maoist chief killed in Chhattisgarh's Abujhmad last week, was cremated alongside the bodies of seven other Naxals, with police claiming that no 'clear legal claimant' turned up to collect them.
According to a police officer, 'Five groups of claimants (including for Basavaraju) reached Narayanpur but couldn't produce valid and satisfactory documents to prove their relationship to the deceased. They also couldn't provide valid and legal documents in support of their claim to take the bodies to Andhra Pradesh/Telangana. The state extended all basic and humanitarian courtesy and followed due legal procedure in cremating the unclaimed bodies.'
Basavaraju's nephew Nabla Janardhan Rao, however, told the media, 'I went to the police on Sunday. They said nothing… just paperwork was going on. In the evening, they took my details and left. On Monday morning, I went to the hospital and then to the SP's office. At 1 pm, they asked me for my Aadhaar card. Then they said a foul stench was emanating from the body and that we couldn't take it. I asked to see the body, but they did not allow it.'
In an official press statement, the Bastar police said, 'Out of 27 bodies recovered from the Kudmel-Kalhaja-Jatloor encounter, 20 have been handed over to the family members after verifying their claims.'
'Whereas there was no clear legal claimant for the remaining seven bodies, including that of top-ranked Naxal cadre CPI Maoist General Secretary Basavaraju. All those bodies… were cremated in Narayanpur as per the legal procedure with due order from the executive magistrate,' it added.
The police said Basavaraju had at least 258 criminal cases against him, wherein he had direct and indirect involvement.
'In the press note released by CPI Maoist with regard to the Abhujmad encounter, they have admitted that 28 cadres, including their General Secretary Basavaraju, died in the exchange of fire. In the press release, the illegal and banned Maoist outfit was also trying to instigate their supporters to organise rallies and meetings throughout the country to glorify the death of their cruel and dreadful leadership, who were responsible for the death of thousands and thousands of innocent citizens, tribals, women, children and security personnel. Police and intelligence agencies are keeping a strict vigilance over the activities of the underground Maoist cadres as well as their overground workers and supporters,' it said.