Top Naxal leader with ₹45 lakh bounty killed in Chhattisgarh gunfight

Bijapur, Chhattisgarh – In a major breakthrough in anti-Naxal operations, Bhaskar Rao alias Mailarapu Adellu, a top CPI (Maoist) leader with a combined bounty of ₹45 lakh, was killed in an encounter with security forces in the National Park area of Bijapur district. The operation also led to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle, explosives, and other arms.

Rao, a native of Urumadla village in Telangana’s Adilabad district, was Secretary of the Mancherial-Komarambheem division of the Telangana State Committee and a Special Zonal Committee (SZC) member. The Chhattisgarh government had announced a ₹25 lakh reward for him, while Telangana offered ₹20 lakh.

Inspector General of Bastar Range P Sundarraj confirmed the recovery of Rao’s body and ongoing search operations to locate other Maoists believed to be hiding in the area.

His death comes just a day after the killing of another senior Maoist leader, Sudhakar alias Gautam, a Central Committee Member (CCM), in the same forest zone. Gautam was neutralized on June 5, also with an AK-47 found near his body.

This marks the third major blow to Maoist leadership in just over three weeks. On May 21, Central Committee Politburo member and General Secretary Basava Raju was found dead in Abujmarh forest, Narayanpur district, following an encounter where 26 Naxals were killed.

The current operation was a joint effort by the STF, DRG, and CoBRA forces. Officials said multiple exchanges of fire occurred, and further recoveries of arms and explosives have been made.