Maoists admit losses, above 350 cadres killed in last year

AN INTERNAL DOCUMENT, SEEN BY HT, PROVIDES A DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF CASUALTIES THAT THE PARTY ITSELF ACKNOWLEDGES.

- Srinivasa Rao Apparasu and Ritesh Mishra

The Communist Party of India (Maoist) has admitted to significant losses, acknowledging that 357 of its cadres were killed in the past year and that “improper implementation” of their secretive tactics were to blame for the government having succeeded in its Operation Kagaar.

The admission, contained in a 22-page document dated June 23 and circulated by the party's Central Committee, offers a rare official acknowledgment of massive losses and strategic failure from a left-wing extremist movement that the government has vowed to uproot by April, 2026.

The most significant setback was the death of Nambala Kesava Rao, the general secretary of the outfit, on May 21.

Police officials confirmed the document was distributed among cadres and sympathisers following strategic discussions after the killing of Rao, who was known as Basavaraju.