Chhattisgarh: Senior Maoist leader Gautam, alias Sudhakar, killed in Bijapur encounter

Senior Maoist cadre and Central Committee Member (CCM) Narasimha Chalam, alias Gautam, also known as Sudhakar, was neutralised during an exchange of fire between security forces and Maoists in the National Park area of Bijapur District, Chhattisgarh. The encounter took place amid ongoing operations aimed at curbing insurgent activities in the region.

According to IG Bastar P Sundarraj, the security forces recovered one AK-47 rifle along with a substantial quantity of explosive materials, arms, and ammunition during the search operation.

The successful operation marks a significant development in the efforts to dismantle Maoist networks in the area.

Narasimha Chalam's killing comes a fortnight after CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju (70) was neutralised by security forces in the Bastar region.

The police stated that the exchange of fire broke out in the forest of Indravati national park area when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation based on inputs about the presence of senior cadres.

Personnel belonging to the Special Task Force, District Reserve Guard, both units of the Chhattisgarh police, and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action - an elite unit of CRPF) were involved in the operation.

A senior police official posted in Bastar Range told PTI that the security forces, comprising personnel from the Special Task Force, District Reserve Guard, both units of the Chhattisgarh police, and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action—an elite unit of CRPF), launched the operation on Wednesday.

They launched the operation after receiving the information that Maoist leader Sudhakar, Telangana State Committee member Bandi Prakash, Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) member Pappa Rao, and a few other armed cadres were hiding the forest area.

About Narasimha Chalam:

In the exchange of fire, the security forces killed Narasimha Chalam, who is also known by aliases Anand, Chanti Balakrishna, Ramaraju, Aravind and Somanna. He was a resident of Pragadavaram village in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, the official informed.

Chalam originally hailed from Andhra Pradesh and was involved in indoctrination and radicalization of youth and also responsible for numerous Naxal attacks in Chhattisgarh, said the police.

Chalam was not only a member of Maoists' Central Committee, but was also in-charge of RePOS (Revolutionary Political School) and Central Regional Bureau (CRB). Narasimha Chalam had a bounty of ₹40 lakh on his head.

"Sudhakar was responsible for various violent incidents that resulted in the death of numerous innocent tribal civilians and the martyrdom of security personnel. Moreover, as in-charge of the Maoist ideological training school (RePOS), he was involved in misleading and radicalizing the youths with violent and anti-national ideologies," informed Bastar Range Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sundarraj P.

"His death marks a major success for security forces and is a significant blow to the Maoist leadership, particularly in the Dandakaranya region (that covers south Chhattisgarh and border areas of Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha). His neutralization will cause a considerable setback to the already weakening strength of the outlawed Maoist organization," he asserted.

Previous encounters:

Earlier on 21 May, top Maoist leader Basavaraju and 26 other cadres were killed in an encounter with security forces on the Narayanpur-Bijapur border in the Bastar region.

In 2025, 203 Naxalites have been killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh. Out of them, 186 were eliminated in the Bastar division, which includes districts of Bijapur, Bastar, Kanker, Konadagaon, Narayanpur, Sukma, and Dantewada. Since January last year, more than 403 Maoist cadres have been neutralized so far in the Bastar division in separate encounters, according to government figures.

With agency inputs.