One of India's most wanted Naxal leaders, Nambala Keshav Rao, also known as Basavaraju, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh today (Wednesday-May 21,2025).

Basavaraju was among 30 Naxals neutralised in a joint operation led by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) in the dense Abujhmad forests - a Naxal stronghold.

He was the general secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). He has been part of the Naxalite movement since the late 1970s and was one of its most feared strategists. 

Basavaraju carried a bounty of Rs 1.5 crore and was wanted in connection with several deadly attacks on security forces across multiple states.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah called the operation "a landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate Naxalism". He called Nambala Keshav Rao the "backbone of the Naxal movement", adding that it was the "first time in three decades of Bharat's battle against Naxalism that a general secretary-ranked leader has been neutralised by our forces".