Chhattisgarh has put last nail in coffin of Maoism: CM Vishnu Deo Sai on Abujhmarh encounter

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Thursday said that the state govt has put the last nail in the coffin of Maoism with the killing of top Maoist leader Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju by security forces in Abujhmarh encounter.

Basavaraju was the top most Maoist serving as the general secretary of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) and a political bureau member. He was among 27 Maoists gunned down by District Reserve Guards in the forest along the border of Narayanpur and Bijapur districts on Wednesday.

Briefing the press on Thursday in state capital, CM Sai said, Basavaraju carried a collective reward of Rs 3 crore on his head which included Rs 1 crore bounty declared by Chhattisgarh govt, Rs 1 crore by Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Rs 50 lakh declared by National Investigation Agency, Rs 25 lakh each by Andhra Pradesh and Odisha governments, CM said.

Basavaraju alias Gaganna who was considered as the backbone of the outlawed Maoist movement, and served as number one among the Maoists, he said.

Sai added, With Basavaraju's elimination, we have succeeded in breaking the backbone of Maoists. The credit for the success goes to the valour and courage of our brave security forces.Guns and talks cannot go together.

Naxalism has destroyed the lives of innocent tribal people and today every person of Bastar wants development. Our government's policy has been to answer bullets with bullets and talks with talks, CM added.

CM informed that the security forces have neutralized more than 400 Maoists and arrested 1422 Maoists in the last one and a half years. Pointing out that the number of surrenders is more than those arrested in the year 2025, deputy CM Vijay Sharma who also represents Home department said, People in Bastar have been almost kept in captivity and Maoists kill the innocent tribals, and there are many examples like Manikonta and Errabore incidents.