Hyderabad: Top Maoist leader and Central Committee chief of the CPI (Maoist), Nambala Keshava Rao, was reportedly killed in an encounter with police forces. Known as the mastermind behind several high-profile attacks, Keshava Rao was most infamously linked to the 2003 Alipiri assassination attempt on then-Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
According to initial reports, Rao was killed during an exchange of fire between Maoist cadres and police personnel. Official confirmation and further details are awaited.
Keshava Rao, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, joined the Maoist movement while pursuing his MTech at REC Warangal (now NIT Warangal). Attracted to the Naxalbari ideology during his student years, he rose rapidly through the ranks to become a key strategist in guerrilla warfare.
He was also named as the principal architect of the 2010 Dantewada massacre in Chhattisgarh, in which 72 CRPF personnel were killed in one of the deadliest Maoist attacks in India’s history.
His death marks a significant development in the decades-long conflict between security forces and Maoist insurgents, particularly given his status as a high-ranking and elusive figure within the party’s central leadership.