Top commander' among 27 Naxals killed in C'garh

At least 27 Naxalites have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region, officials said on Wednesday, with sources claiming that top Maoist leader Basavaraju was among them.

- Ayesha Arvind

NARAYANPUR:

A member of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a unit of state police, was also killed in action while some others sustained injuries, police said.

Reacting to the development, PM Modi said on X, "Proud of our forces for this remarkable success. Our Government is committed to eliminating the menace of Maoism and ensuring a life of peace and progress for our people."

Security forces achieved "historic success" during the encounter as a top Maoist leader was eliminated, a senior police official said without giving more details.

Officials claimed that Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju, the general secretary of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) who was in his late 60s, was among the slain Maoists, though police did not confirm it officially.

The encounter took place in dense forests of Abhujmad on the tri-junction of Narayanpur-Bijapur-Dantewada districts, the senior police official said.