India Kills Top Maoist Leader, 27 Rebels in Crackdown

Indian security forces have killed Nambala Keshava Rao, the top Maoist leader and general secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), in a gunfight in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district, marking the first time in three decades that a leader of his rank has been neutralized. The operation resulted in the deaths of 27 Maoist rebels and one police officer, and is considered a significant blow to the decades-long insurgency that began in the late 1960s and has claimed over 10,000 lives. The Maoists, who have controlled parts of central India known as the "red corridor," claim to represent marginalized indigenous communities but have been targeted by a sweeping government crackdown aiming to end the insurgency by March 2026. The Indian government has also reported dozens of arrests and surrenders in related operations across Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah both praised the security forces for their success, while the Communist Party of India called for an independent inquiry into the killings. Rao, an engineer by training and the ideological mastermind behind many of the deadliest Maoist attacks, had a bounty on his head and was the most wanted Maoist rebel in India.