India: Persistent Maoist Threat, Aggressive Consolidation – Analysis

On June 20, a senior female Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, carrying a bounty of Rs. 800,000, was killed in a gun battle with Security Forces (SFs) on the Kotri riverbank near the forested hills between Amatola and Kalpar villages under Chhotebethiya Police Station limits in the Kanker District of the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh.

Based on credible intelligence regarding the presence of armed Maoists in the area, a joint search operation involving personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Border Security Force (BSF) was launched. The slain Maoist was identified as Shanti aka Deve, a native of Gundem village under Bijapur District, and was earlier active in the Maoists’ Gobra Area Committee, functioning in the Gariabandh region of east Chhattisgarh, and later shifted to the Maoists’ North Bastar Division. She was a member of company number five and later of the company number seven of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA). SFs recovered one .303 rifle, one indigenous barrel grenade launcher (BGL), one walkie talkie and other incriminating materials from the encounter spot.

On June 18, 2025, three high-ranking cadres were killed in an encounter with the anti-Naxal unit Greyhounds in the Maredumilli Forests near Kintukuru village under Rampachodavaram Police Station limits in Alluri Sitharama Raju District of Andhra Pradesh. They were identified as Gajarla Ravi aka Uday aka Ganesh, a CPI-Maoist ‘central committee (CC)’ member, who had over 150 criminal cases against him and carried a reward of INR 2.5 million; Raavi Venkata Lakshmi Chaitanya aka Aruna aka Ruppi, a ‘special zonal committee member (SZCM)’ of the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) committee and ‘east division secretary’ with over 150 cases registered, and a reward of INR 2 million; and Anju aka Mase, an ‘area committee member (ACM)’, with 22 cases and an INR 100,000 reward. Gajarla Ravi was on the National Investigation Agency (NIA)’s most wanted list and was known to be a top military strategist. In 2004, he was one of the negotiators the CPI-Maoist had sent for peace talks with the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy government. He was a former ‘secretary’ of the CPI-Maoist’s Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC). Aruna was the wife of senior Maoist leader Ramachandra Reddy aka Pratap Reddy aka Appa Rao aka Ravi Jayram aka Chhalpati (62), a senior member of the ‘CC’, who was killed along with another 15 cadres in an encounter in the Kularighat Reserve Forest area under Mainpur Police Station limits in the Gariabandh District on January 20, 2025. From the scene of the incident, three AK-47 rifles, kit bags, empty rounds, cash, Maoist literature, olive green dresses and other items were recovered.

On June 14, 2025, at least four CPI-Maoist cadres, three of them women, were killed in an encounter with SFs in the Pachamdadar and Katejhiriya areas of the Sonewani Forest in the Balaghat District of Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh’s anti-Maoists Hawk Force Commandant Shiyaz K.M. disclosed that the operatives belonged to the Malajkhand unit of the GRB (Gondia-Rajnandgaon-Balaghat) Division of the Maoists, and were identified as Rita aka Tubbi Srirangu Hidami, Tulsi aka Vimla aka Imla, Suman and Ravi, all of whom were ‘ACMs’, carried a cumulative bounty of INR 5.6 million, and were named in more than 100 criminal cases. A self-loading rifle (SLR), two .315 rifles, a grenade launcher, and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site.

Keeping in view of the March 31, 2026 deadline of eradicating Naxalism from the country, SFs are engaging in aggressive operations to consolidate their domination of areas in which the Maoists remain active.

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 257 Naxalites have been killed across the country in the current year thus far (data till June 22, 2025). During the corresponding period of 2024, 156 Naxalites had been killed across the country. Through 2024, a total of 296 Naxalites were killed across the country, and 56 were killed in 2023. Significantly, at least 548 Naxalites have been killed since January 21, 2024, when Union Home Minister (UHM) Amit Shah asserted that the country would be freed of the menace of Naxalism within the next three years and directed states to expedite development activities in remote areas affected by the ultras across the country. Significantly, however, on April 1, 2025, UHM Shah reasserted through a tweet that “Bharat [India] is determined to uproot Naxalism for good by 31st March 2026.”

Significantly, of the 257 Naxalites killed in the current year, one was a ‘politburo’ member and four were ‘CC’ members, the two most powerful decision-making bodies of the CPI-Maoist.

Earlier, on May 21, 2025,crippling the Naxalites in a major tactical blow to the CPI-Maoist, Nambala Keshava Rao aka Basava Raju aka Ganganna aka Krishna aka Vijay aka Prakash (70), the ‘general secretary’ of the party (the highest executive post), a ‘Politburo member’, ‘CC’ member, and Central Military Commission (CMC)’ member, was killed along with 26 other Maoists, in an encounter with SFs in the dense jungles between the Abujhmad Forest and the Indravati National Park in the Narayanpur District of the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh.

According to Bastar Range Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sundarraj Pattilingam, on June 12, 2025, only four ‘Politburo members’ and 18 ‘CC’ members remained active, most of them either in hiding or too old to operate effectively.

Moreover, in a June 19, 2025, report, an unnamed senior official privy to the counterinsurgency operations observed, “With Ravi gone, the central committee has no one left operating in Andhra. Andhra-origin members have also been wiped out.” Indeed, Ravi, who was a native of Telangana, led the crucial AOBSZC, and his death signifies the total elimination of all ‘CC’ members either operating in or originally from Andhra, which represents a strategic blow to the organisation’s command and coordination in that territory.

There is, yet, no communiqué from the CPI-Maoist about filling the post of ‘general secretary’, to lead the party, though speculations had been rife about two senior-most leaders [Mallojula Venugopal aka Abhay aka Bhupati aka Master aka Sonu (69), and Thippari Tirupati aka Devji aka Devuji aka Deoji aka Sanjiv aka Sanjeev aka Chetan aka Ramesh aka Kumma aka Shankar aka Sheshu aka Jagan aka Sudharshan aka Devanna (60)] as contenders to “fill the leadership void”. Meanwhile, according to a May 29, 2025, report, the buzz in Bastar is that Mupalla Laxman Rao aka Ganapathy (76), Basavaraju’s mentor and predecessor, was back in the country. However, an unnamed security source ruled out the possibility of Ganapathy taking charge, noting,

Ganapathy was in the Philippines all these years for treatment and rest, but is back after Basavaraju’s encounter killing. He was acting as an ‘advisor’ to the outfit. He is in his late 70s and his deteriorating health won’t allow him to be back as the head of Maoists. 

Amidst these developments, and despite giving a call for a truce and appealing to the UMHA for a ceasefire, the Maoists continue with their acts of violence, underscoring a dangerous escalation in retribution tactics as they (Maoists) react to increased security operations in the region.

On June 21, 2025, two villagers – Samaiya, a former Maoist who surrendered earlier this year, and Veko Deva, a resident of Empur village – were abducted and subsequently killed by cadres of the CPI-Maoist, suspecting them to be ‘Police informers’ in Empur village under Pamed Police Station limits in Bijapur District in the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh. The killings were carried out hours before the arrival of UHM Shah to Chhattisgarh, where he is scheduled to hold meetings reviewing the security situation amid the anti-Naxal operations and attend other programmes.

On June 17, 2025, CPI-Maoist cadres strangled to death three villagers – Jhingu Modiyam, Soma Modiyam, and Anil Madvi – in the Peddakorma village of Bijapur District. Two of the victims were relatives of Dinesh Modiyam, a wanted Maoist ‘commander’, who surrendered a few months ago. Dinesh’s surrender was significant for the Police, as it provided valuable information on Maoist strategies. In addition to the killings, the rebels assaulted seven other villagers, leaving them injured, and abducted 12 locals, whose whereabouts remain unknown. This murderous operation was reportedly led by Maoist ‘commander’ Vella and his team, in a suspected retaliatory attack against those linked to surrendered Maoists.

On June 14, 2025, an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), Satyavan Kumar Singh (34), of the Jharkhand-based 134 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) battalion was killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast along the Odisha-Jharkhand border during a joint combing operation against the CPI-Maoist in the Banko Forest under K. Balang Police Station limits of Rourkela in the Sundargarh District of Odisha.

On June 9, 2025, Akash Rao Giripunje (42), ASP, was killed in an IED blast suspected to have been planted by cadres of the CPI-Maoist in a quarry at Dondra village in the Konta area of Sukma District in the Bastar Division of Chhattisgarh. Another two Police personnel, including the Town Inspector (TI) and Sub Inspector (SI), on foot patrol duty were also injured in the blast. The blast was triggered by a pressure IED on the Konta-Errabore Road, when a team led by Giripunje was patrolling the area to prevent any incident ahead of the 10 June Bharat Bandh (general shutdown strike) call given by the CPI-Maoist to protest the deaths of several of its senior cadres, including ‘general secretary’ Nambala Keshava Rao aka Basavaraju (70), in encounters on May 21.

On June 8, 2025, a villager was allegedly killed by a group of 10 to 15 CPI-Maoist cadres, using sharp-edged weapons, in Poovarti village under Jagargunda Police Station area in Sukma District in the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh. The victim was suspected to be a ‘police informer’. Upon receiving information about the incident, Police and other SFs reached the spot and cordoned off the area.

At least 54 fatalities – 30 civilians and 24 SF personnel – inflicted by the Maoists, have been recorded across the country in the current year, thus far (data till June 22, 2025). During the corresponding period of 2024, 47 such fatalities – 37 civilians and 10 SF personnel – had were recorded across the country, and a total of 101 fatalities – 80 civilians and 21 SF personnel – were recorded through the year. 92 persons – 61 civilians and 31 SF personnel – were killed by the Maoists in 2023. At least 150 such fatalities – 106 civilians and 44 SF personnel – have been killed across the country since January 21, 2024, according to SATP.

It is useful to recall that, on May 28, 2025, the CPI-Maoist ‘CC’ had stated that it was ready for peace talks on the condition that the Government halts its anti-Maoist operations in the region and stops the establishment of new armed forces’ camps in various States, including Chhattisgarh.

The Maoist statement read, “We are always ready for peace talks in the interest of the public. Therefore, on this occasion, we are proposing to create a positive atmosphere for peace talks in front of the Central and State governments.”

Later, on April 2, 2025, April 18, 2025, and April 25, 2025, the Maoists appealed to the central government to stop anti-Naxalite operations, to call back the Forces, and suspend the campaign for a month, after which the Maoists would hold peace talks when a favourable environment had been created. An emotional appeal was being made, the Maoists asserted, and they were waiting for a positive response; however, the central government is yet to respond to the Maoists’ proposals for talks. Significantly, the leaders of different political parties, people’s organisations and rights groups have staged demonstration on different occasions in Telangana, in support of the ‘talks.’

Apart from killing civilians and SF personnel, the Maoists have also orchestrated at least 32 incidents of IED blasts in 2025 (data till June 22), in addition to 41 such incidents in 2024. The Maoists have also abducted at least 15 civilians in three incidents in 2025, in addition to 27 civilians in 15 incidents in 2024. Importantly, no SF personnel have been abducted by the Maoists during this period.

On March 1, 2025, Bastar Range IGP Sundarraj Pattilingam, asserted that Bastar ‘division’ now had only around 1,200 Maoists left. He noted, further,

The door is open for them to shun violence and surrender or have a final face-off with security forces. With 385 Naxalites killed since 2021, Bastar is left with around 400 regular armed cadres. The remaining 700-800 are militia men who serve as a support system, members of the cultural wing, like ‘Chetna Natya Manch (CNM)’ and ‘Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Majdoor Sangh (DAKMS).’ The central committee is also shrinking. Our major concern, as well as target, are the uniformed ones, mostly in PLGA [Peoples’ Liberation Guerrilla Army] formations and senior-level cadres of Battalion 1.

Sundarraj noted that ‘militia’ (people’s army of the Maoists) members often turn out to be just as dangerous as hardcore PLGA cadres, but the focus is to bring them into the mainstream, as they understand the phrase ‘Jiska Dum Uske Hum’ (We stand with the powerful). However, he also disclosed that the ‘militia’ members realise they are being used as a tool. Once they are on this side of the fence, they only want development and facilities.

SFs are pushing aggressively for the decisive battle to achieve the deadline of March 31, 2026, set by the UMHA, to bring an end to the Maoist movement. Following the success of the anti-Maoist operation in the Karregutta Hills, the Chhattisgarh Police disclosed on May 14, 2025, that they had decided to end the operation for the time being; however, that decision cost a few more lives of SFs and civilians. It is clear that the Maoists persist in their violence, making continuing SF operations a necessity.