22-05-2025
Two women Maoists from Telangana among 27 killed in Chhattisgarh encounter
Hyderabad: Two women Maoists from Telangana were among those killed in a major gun battle between security forces and CPI (Maoist) cadres in the dense forests between Bijapur and Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday.
The encounter, which left 27 Maoists dead, marks a significant blow to the insurgent group.
The two deceased women were identified as Sangeeta and Bhoomika, both aged around 35 and belonging to Telangana. They were active members of Peoples Liberation Guerrilla Army Company No. 07, a guerrilla unit of the banned CPI (Maoist). Each carried a bounty of 10 lakh. The duo were the bodyguards of the Maoist chief Basavaraju.
Their deaths take the number of Maoists from the Telugu-speaking states killed in the operation to five. Among them was Nambala Keshav Rao, widely known by his alias Basavaraju, the General Secretary of CPI (Maoist). Aged about 70 and a native of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, he was the most senior Maoist leader and carried a combined bounty of 10 crore.
Also killed was Jang Naveen alias Madhu, aged 45, from Prakasam district in AP. A high-ranking strategist, he was a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and part of the Central Committee's strategic team, with a bounty of 25 lakh.
The fifth deceased was Ugendra alias Vivek, around 30 years old, from Telangana. He was a member of PLGA Company No. 07 and affiliated with the People's Party Committee (PPCM). His bounty stood at 8 lakh.
