Latest news with #Sudhakar
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Day after Naxal leader Sudhakar's death, encounter breaks out in same area in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur
BIJAPUR: A day after top Naxal leader Sudhakar was eliminated by security forces in Indravati National Park area in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, an encounter broke out in the same area on Friday, an official said. The encounter is part of the same anti-Naxal operation underway since Wednesday by personnel from the state police's Special Task Force (STF) and District Reserve Guard (DRG) as well as the CRPF's specialised unit CoBRA, he added. Intermittent firing between security forces and the Maoist ultras is underway, the official said, adding further details were awaited. Senior Maoist leader Narasimha Chalam alias Sudhakar, who had a bounty of Rs 40 lakh on his head, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district on Thursday. Originally hailing from Andhra Pradesh, the 67-year-old Sudhakar was involved in indoctrination and radicalization of youth and also responsible for numerous Naxal attacks in Chhattisgarh, resulting in the death of civilians and security personnel, police said. The killing of Sudhakar, a member of the Maoists' Central Committee, comes a fortnight after CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju (70) was neutralised by security forces in the Bastar region. Basavaraju was gunned down in Narayanpur on May 21.
The Print
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Print
Sudhakar was last of 3 top Maoist leaders who took part in failed 2004 peace talks with Andhra govt
The two other leaders with Sudhakar were Akkiraju Hargopal, alias Ramakrishna alias RK, then state secretary of the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) People's War, also known as People's War Group (PWG), and Gajarla Ravi alias Ganesh, the North Telangana special zonal committee member. The three went on to lead the peace talks with the Andhra Pradesh government. On 11 October, 2004, Sudhakar had emerged with two other leaders of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), and two cadres of CPI (Marxist-Leninist)-Janashakti from the Nallamala forest, and addressed a public meeting at Guttikonda Bilam in then undivided Andhra Pradesh. New Delhi: The killing of 66-year-old Maoist leader Tentu Laxmi Narsimha Chalam, alias Goutham or Sudhakar, by security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur Thursday closes the chapter of the only—and unsuccessful—peace talks between the government and Maoists over 20 years ago. The CPI (Maoist) was formed with the merger of PWG with the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) in September 2004. After a few rounds of productive negotiations, the talks were called off by the Maoists in January 2005 on the grounds of continued operations by Andhra Pradesh's Greyhounds force against the group. The talks had been initiated after years of crackdown by the then N. Chandrababu Naidu-led government in Andhra Pradesh. Congress leader Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had promised the peace talks with Maoists if elected to power in the 2004 assembly elections. When he won, his government announced a ceasefire with the rebels in June 2004, initially for three months, and it was extended by another three months. Starting 12 October, 2004, the Maoist leaders were accommodated at Manjeera guesthouse in Hyderabad, and the first phase of talks went on from 15 to 18 October at Dr Marri Channa Reddy Human Resource Development Institute. The trio of Ramakrishna, Sudhakar and Ganesh, representing the Maoists, was in attendance. The CPI (ML)-Janashakti, another Andhra-based armed rebel group of Maoists, was represented by leaders Amar and Riyaz. During the 4-day talks, the state government and Maoist leaders held discussions on issues such as laying down of arms by the rebels, continuance of ceasefire as long as talks continued, distribution of surplus lands, release of political prisoners, withdrawal of cases against people involved in the revolutionary movement, ending of cash rewards on the heads of revolutionaries, action against private armed gangs, etc. However, there was no consensus on laying down of arms by the Maoists, and the talks were finally called off in January 2005 as the Maoists alleged continuation of crackdown by the state. Ramakrishna went on to become a member of both the central committee and politburo of the CPI (Maoist). He was reported to have died a natural death in the South Bastar region in October 2021, after escaping an October 2016 encounter with a joint team of the Andhra Pradesh Police's Greyhounds and Odisha Police in Malkangiri. Ganesh was killed in the same encounter. CPI (ML)-Janashakti cadre Riyaz was said to have been killed in an encounter by the Karimnagar district police, while Amar dissociated himself with the outfit after his arrest and was released on bail. On Thursday, Sudhakar, a member of the central committee of the CPI (Maoist), was identified as one of the casualties following exchange of fire in a search operation by a team of the Chhattisgarh District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force and troops from the CRPF's Commando Battalion for Resolute Action in Bijapur district. 'Reliable Intelligence inputs indicated the presence of Central Committee Member Gautam alias Sudhakar, along with Telangana State Committee Member Bandi Prakash, Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee Member Pappa Rao, and several other armed Maoist cadres in the area,' Bastar range IG Sundarraj Pattilingam said in a statement. 'In the ensuing exchange of fire, security forces recovered the body of a senior Maoist cadre along with an AK-47 rifle. The neutralised Maoist cadre has been identified as Central Committee Member Gautam alias Sudhakar,' it added. Also Read: Citing precedent, Bastar IG says CPI (Maoist) unlikely to get new gen secy after Basavaraju Ayurveda course dropout, Maoist ideologue Born into a rural family in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh before his father migrated to Eluru district, Sudhakar completed high school studies from his local block. He moved to Eluru town for intermediate education at Sir C.R. Reddy College. However, according to his records with the Andhra Pradesh Police, he did not pursue his ayurvedic medicine course entirely at a Vijayawada college and left it midway. He joined the People's War Group in 1995. Between 2001 and 2003, he worked extensively for the outfit as secretary of the Andhra-Odisha Border special zonal committee. In the same capacity, he attended the peace talks with the Andhra Pradesh government. He was inducted into the central committee of the CPI (Maoist) and was instrumental in running a Maoist ideological training school in 2007. Confirming his death in the Bijapur encounter, IG Sundarraj stated that Sudhakar had played a key role in luring tribal youths into the Maoist fold. 'Gautam was a senior Maoist leader responsible for various violent incidents that resulted in the deaths of numerous innocent tribal civilians and the martyrdom of security personnel. Moreover, as the in-charge of the Maoist ideological training school (RePOS), Gautam was involved in misleading and radicalising the youth with violent and anti-national ideologies,' he stated. Sudhakar was married to another senior Maoist cadre named Kakarala Guru Smruthi alias Umakka, who works as a state zonal committee member and allegedly runs Mobile Political School (MOPOS) of the Maoists. (Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui) Also Read: Abujhmarh op shut Basavaraju chapter of Maoist insurgency. How homegrown DRG gave forces edge
Scroll.in
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Maoist leader killed in gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh
A central committee member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Thursday, said Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. The member identified as Gautam, alias Sudhakar, had a bounty of Rs 40 lakh on his head, according to The Hindu. The central committee is the highest decision-making body of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The gunfight began on Wednesday after a joint team of security forces acted on intelligence reports indicating the presence of suspected Maoist leaders in the Indravati National Park area, Bastar Range Inspector General of Police P Sundarraj told PTI. The Special Task Force, District Reserve Guard, both units of the Chhattisgarh Police and Commando Battalion for Resolute Action – a specialised unit of the Central Reserve Police Force – were involved in the operation, Sundarraj added. He said that an AK-47 rifle, along with a large cache of explosives, weapons and ammunition, was recovered during the operation. Sai stated on Thursday that apart from Sudhakar, ' several other ' suspected Maoists were killed during the security operation. He did not confirm the number of suspected Maoists killed. Sudhakar allegedly led the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist)'s technology team and the Regional Political School, an ideological training school for recruits, Sundarraj told The Hindu. This comes two weeks after Nambala Keshav Rao, the leader of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), was killed in a gunfight with security forces on May 21. He was among the 27 suspected Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur. लाल आतंक का अंत हो रहा है, नक्सलवाद अब अपनी अंतिम सांसें गिन रहा है सुरक्षाबल के वीर जवान कठिन चुनौतियों और दुर्गम परिस्थितियों के बावजूद नक्सलवाद के खात्मे के अभियान को ऐतिहासिक सफलता की ओर ले जा रहे हैं। आज बीजापुर में डीआरजी, एसटीएफ और कोबरा बलों ने वामपंथी उग्रवाद के खिलाफ… — Vishnu Deo Sai (@vishnudsai) June 5, 2025 According to the Chhattisgarh chief minister, more than 400 suspected Maoists have been killed in the Bastar region in 2024-'25. The police have stated that 186 suspected Maoists have been killed in gunfights with security personnel in the Bastar range in 2025. In 2024, 217 suspected Maoists were killed by security forces across Chhattisgarh. Malini Subramaniam has reported for Scroll that while many of those killed in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region in 2024 were declared by the police to be reward-carrying Maoists, several families dispute the claim. The families claim that the persons killed were civilians.
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Another big setback for Maoists: Top commander killed in Bastar forests; third senior leader eliminated this year
Another big setback for Maoists: Top commander killed in Bastar forests, third senior leader eliminated this year RAIPUR/HYDERABAD: Barely a fortnight after gunning down CPI(Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju, security forces shot dead his long-time aide, central committee member Sudhakar alias Tentu Lakshmi Narasimha Chalam — the banned outfit's ideological chief — in a forest in Bastar's Bijapur district Thursday morning. Born into a middle class family in Andhra Pradesh's Eluru district, Sudhakar, 67, carried a collective bounty of Rs 85 lakh in Chhattisgarh, Telangana and AP. He is the third central committee member to be killed in Bastar this year after Jai Ram alias Chalpathy and Basavaraju. He was the insurgents' ideological tutor, technical strategist, and political educator rolled into one, running the Maoist network in the three states. Three days ago, TOI had reported that security forces in Bastar have precise information on the locations of nine top Maoist commanders in Bastar division, and an operation to eliminate them is imminent unless they surrender. On Wednesday, police got intel inputs about the location of some Maoist top guns in Indravati National Park. "It was very specific information on the presence of Sudhakar, Telangana state committee member Bandi Prakash, Dandakaranya special zonal committee member Papa Rao, and a few other armed cadres," Bastar Range IG P Sundarraj said. Troops from DRG, STF and CoBRA set out on foot to intercept them, traversing treacherous terrain in the dark, and caught sight of the Maoists early Thursday morning. The gunfight broke out with the rising sun. After a while, police found a body which was later confirmed to be Sudhakar's. He was clad in a blue shirt and an AK-47 had fallen from his lifeless hands. "As in charge of the Maoist ideological training school RePOS (Revolutionary Political School), Sudhakar was involved in misleading and radicalising youth with violent and anti-national ideologies," Sundarraj said. Sudhakar studied at CR Reddy College in Eluru and briefly enrolled for a course in Ayurveda in Vijayawada before abandoning academics. Drawn by radical leftist ideology, he joined People's War Group in 1986, beginning a journey that would last nearly four decades in the Maoist underground. He became a public face during the 2004 peace talks between then AP govt and Maoists. Alongside senior leaders like Ramakrishna and Ganesh, he emerged from the forests to address a public gathering at Guttikonda Bilam in Palnadu. The negotiations, held in Hyderabad from Oct 15 to 18, 2004, focused on ceasefire, land rights, and prisoners' release. However, with talks collapsing soon after, Sudhakar slipped back into the underground, this time into the heart of central India's dense forests. Sudhakar played a key role in the outfit's technical wing, handling communications and equipment logistics vital to guerrilla warfare. Fluent in Telugu, Hindi, and Gondi, he combined political instruction with technical sophistication, a rare dual capability within the movement. His wife, Kakarala Guru Smruthi alias Uma, is also an active Maoist and a state committee member in Dandakaranya zone. Police is hopeful of "more success" in Indravati National Park. Security agencies said nine of the remaining 15 top Maoist leaders, collectively carrying bounties worth Rs 8.4 crore, are hiding in Bastar. "Sudhakar's death is a major success for security forces and is a significant blow to the weakening Maoist leadership, particularly in Dandakaranya region," Sundarraj said. "It's a serious setback for the Maoist movement, particularly in the political education and technical domains," a senior anti-Naxal intel official from AP told TOI. "It creates a vacuum in the leadership structure of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee. "
Hans India
12 hours ago
- Hans India
Top Maoist leader Sudhakar killed in C'garh encounter
Raipur: A top Maoist leader, who was carrying a reward of Rs 50 lakh on his head, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Bastar's Indravati Tiger Reserve, Bijapur, in Chhattisgarh on Thursday. Nar Singhachalam, alias Sudhakar, was one of the most-wanted Maoist leaders, operating across states like Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra. Some automatic weapons have been recovered from the site. Joint forces are continuing the operation. Sudhakar's killing comes after another top Maoist leader Nambala Keshav Rao, also known as Basavaraju, was killed in an intense encounter in the Abujhmad forests of Chhattisgarh last month.
