Security personnel sit next to weapons surrendered by Maoist cadres in Dantewada, Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, March 31 | Photo credit: AFP
Story so far:
On 21 May 2025, Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavraj, then general secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist), was killed in an encounter in the Abujmarh area of Chhattisgarh. The operation was led by the District Reserve Guard and the CoBRA unit of the CRPF. His successor, Thippiri Tirupati alias Devji, surrendered by February 2026 along with cadres and arms. With most of the Central Committee leaders killed or arrested, the organization is now largely leaderless. With these developments, can the five-decade-old Maoist movement be considered “finished”, as Home Minister Amit Shah claimed, in line with his March 31 deadline to end the insurgency?
Published – 19 April 2026 03:00 IST
