Union Minister Bandi Sanjay hails security forces for 'decisive' anti-Maoist operation

Hyderabad, May 21 (PTI) Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Wednesday said that the elimination of 27 Maoists in Chhattisgarh—including the organisation's general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao—and the arrest of several ultras as part of an anti-Maoist operation, is a "decisive strike" in the country's war on Naxalism.

He hailed the security forces for scripting a "game-changing chapter in national security." "In a monumental victory under the decisive leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji and the tireless efforts of Hon’ble HM Shri @AmitShah Ji, 27 hardcore Maoists have been neutralised in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh—including the CPI-Maoist’s elusive general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju," he said in a post on 'X'.

The encounter marks the first elimination of a general secretary–rank Maoist in over three decades, which is a watershed moment in the war on left-wing Extremism, he said.

Operation Black Forest has further resulted in 54 arrests and the surrender of 84 Maoists across Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Maharashtra, he added.

Top most leader and backbone of the Naxal movement, Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, and 26 other dreaded Maoists were killed by security forces in a fierce encounter in the dense forests of Abhujmad in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday. PTI SJR SSK SJR SSK KH