Latest news with #KeshavRao
Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
25 Maoists killed in Bastar op were members of Basavaraju's protection detail
NARAYANPUR: The 25 Maoists killed in Wednesday's fierce gunfight that led to the killing of Communist Party of India (Maoist) general secretaryNambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur were members of his elaborate protection detail, officials said on Thursday. Apart from Basavaraju, Jangua Naveen, a member of the special zonal committee, was also killed in the gunfight. Officials said the 25 Maoists killed in the operation were members of People's Liberation Guerrilla Army's (PLGA) Company number 7 that was assigned to protect the party general secretary and top central committee members. These fighters usually operated in the dense jungles of Abujhmad. 'Twenty-five cadres of People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) company number 7, who were given the responsibility of guarding Basavaraju, were killed in the encounter. We believe that they were about 35 in number and the rest of them managed to escape,' a senior police officer said. Among the weapons found at the encounter site were 12 automatic weapons and three under-barrel guns. A senior intelligence officer said the operation was launched following an intelligence input. 'Since Basavaraju and other senior leaders have a team of guards, they usually camp near water bodies in Abujhmad in summer. A local input came to police that the members of company number 7 were seen near Boter village after which the operation was launched,' said the intelligence officer. The intelligence officer suggested that the first encounter started on Tuesday evening. 'Basavaraju managed to escape from the first encounter spot but ran into another encounter around four kilometers away as the force had cordoned off a radius of 10 km,' said the officer. It was in the second gunfight that he was killed at about 3am on Wednesday. But it was only several hours later on Wednesday morning that some surrendered Maoist cadres identified Basavaraju's body. Chhattisgarh director general of police Arun Dev Gautam said all the 27 Maoists killed in the operation have been identified. Bastar inspector general (IG) P Sundarraj said Basavaraju had a direct or indirect role in all Maoist attacks in the Left-Wing Extremism-affected states over the last few years. 'The security forces carried out this operation very tactically, which resulted in the death of CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju... This is a great achievement for the security forces... Peace and normalcy will be restored in the area, and the people of the country hope that Naxalism will be eradicated. Peace and normalcy will prevail in the area,' the IG said. Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai told a press conference in state capital Raipur that Basavarju's killing was the proverbial last nail in the coffin of naxalism. 'For the first time in three decades, a Maoist of general secretary rank of the banned outfit has been neutralised. This is an extraordinary achievement and a clear indication that we have put the last nail in the coffin of Naxalism,' Sai said in a press conference here. Our government's policy has been to answer bullets with bullets and talks with talks, he added. The chief minister said, security forces have killed more than 400 Naxalites and arrested 1422 Naxalites in the last one and a half years,
Hans India
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Who is Basavaraju?
Hyderabad: One of India's most wanted Naxal leaders, Nambala Keshav Rao, also known as Basavaraju, was killed in the encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. Keshav Rao, the general secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), has been part of the Naxalite movement since the late 1970s and was one of its most feared strategists. He carried a bounty of Rs 1.5 crore and was wanted in connection with several deadly attacks on security forces across multiple states. A native of Jiyyannapet village in Srikakulam district, Keshav Rao was the son of a school teacher. He studied engineering at Warangal Regional Engineering College (REC) before being drawn into student activism in the 1980s. After being arrested during a student union protest in 1980, he went underground and joined the Naxals. Over the next four decades, Keshav Rao rose through the ranks and became known for his meticulous planning, ruthless ambushes, expertise in jungle warfare and making IEDs. Security officials believe he was the mastermind behind the 2010 Dantewada attack, one of the deadliest ever on Indian forces, in which 76 CRPF jawans were killed in Chhattisgarh. In 2018, he replaced Ganapathy (Muppala Lakshman Rao) as the head of the Maoist Central Committee. His elevation marked a more aggressive phase for the group, with Keshav Rao believed to be behind several high-profile attacks, including the Alipiri attack on Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, killing of TDP MLA K Sarveswara Rao and former MLA Sivari Soma in Andhra Pradesh the same year. Despite the massive bounty, Keshav Rao managed to remain elusive for decades. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had no recent photographs or confirmed details about his age. His death marks a significant blow to the CPI (Maoist), especially in Chhattisgarh and surrounding states, where he helped strengthen the group's operational grip.
Hans India
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
State varsity Contract Asst Profs call off indefinite stir
Hyderabad: The State University Contract Assistant Professors, who have been on an indefinite strike for the past 11 days demanding the regularisation of their services, have announced their decision to withdraw from the strike. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the State University Contract Assistant Professors from 12 universities initiated this protest 24 days ago on their respective campuses. On Tuesday, a delegation of JAC leaders met with K Keshav Rao, the Advisor to the Government of Telangana, at his residence. He assured the delegation that the government is considering their demands and encouraged the teachers to call off the strike. Keshav Rao advised the delegation to meet with the Chairman of the Telangana Higher Education Council and other officials for further discussions regarding the teachers' demands. The JAC leaders reported that the government had asked the Chairman to direct the Vice Chancellors to communicate with the protesting teachers at their strike locations and reassure them that the process for implementing the 7th Pay Revision Commission (PRC)—which includes basic pay, dearness allowance (DA), house rent allowance (HRA), and a three per cent annual increment—has begun.
