Top Naxal Leader With Rs 40 Lakh Bounty Killed In Chhattisgarh Encounter

Just days after the elimination of CPI (Maoist) General Secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, Indian forces have dealt yet another devastating blow to the crumbling Maoist/Naxal movement. Sudhakar, a Central Committee member and one of the last senior figures of Red Terror, was gunned down in an encounter on June 5 in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district.

With each strike, Operation Kagar is not just breaking the back of the Naxal insurgency—it’s dismantling its entire command structure.

Sudhakar: The Last Pillar Collapses

Sudhakar was not just a senior cadre—he was one of the ideological hardliners who carried a bounty of ₹40 lakh on his head. His elimination came after intelligence pinpointed top Maoist activity in the forested National Park zone. Acting swiftly, joint teams of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) launched an early-morning operation that ended in a brief but lethal gunfight.

Reports say the encounter was clean, precise, and intelligence-driven. This wasn’t a lucky break—it was part of a pattern. A pattern that suggests India’s internal security has reached a new level of penetration into Maoist ranks.

After Basavaraju, Now Sudhakar: Leadership Void Deepens

Sudhakar’s killing marks the second major Maoist casualty in just a few weeks. It follows the death of Basavaraju, who held the General Secretary post in the CPI (Maoist)—a role equivalent to the President of a country, commanding both ideological direction and military operations.

Since 2018, he served as the ideological and military brain of the movement, protected by an elite squad of 60-70 fighters.

He was eliminated in a 50-hour joint operation in the dense Abujhmad forest, a longtime Maoist stronghold.

Now, with both top figures gone, the chain of command has fractured. Two possible successors—Devji and Venugopal Rao—remain ineffective. But neither carries Basavaraju’s authority or Sudhakar’s ideological firepower.

The Tide Turns: Surrenders and Silence

In parallel, 16 Maoists, including six with bounties totalling ₹25 lakh, surrendered in Sukma earlier this week. They cited disillusionment with ideology and the brutal treatment of local tribals.

This isn’t a coincidence. It’s the result of pressure from the barrel and from development. It reflects what Home Minister Amit Shah called “irreversible momentum” during his 2025 parliamentary address.

2026: The Deadline Draws Near

March 31, 2026, remains the government’s declared finish line for eradicating Naxalism(Naxal). If the fall of Basavaraju was symbolic, the killing of Sudhakar is surgical. Combined, they indicate a war nearing its final act.

The numbers support this:

• 400+ Maoists killed since 2024

• 800+ surrendered

• Violence down by over 77%

• Affected districts reduced to six

Buses now move through Dantewada. Schools reopen in conflict zones. Maoist radio signals grow faint.

Endgame Accelerates

Operation Kagar is no longer just an offensive. It’s a cleanup. A dismantling. A closing chapter in a decades-long war. With Basavaraju and Sudhakar gone, and the ideological vacuum growing, what remains of the Maoist movement is weak, scattered, and hunted.

If Sudhakar’s death confirms one thing, it’s this—Bharat is not slowing down. The Red Terror is now in retreat. And every new sunrise in Chhattisgarh is beginning to look a little more free.