Top Maoist rebel with Rs10 million bounty among 20 killed in India
Security forces achieved major success towards building Naxal-free Bharat: Home minister
RAIPUR, India: Indian security forces shot dead at least 20 Maoist rebels, including a top commander, on Tuesday in what the home minister said was one of the heaviest bouts of recent fighting.
The home ministry said the commander killed was a leader known as Jayaram Reddy, also known as Chalapati, who had a Rs10 million ($115,530) bounty on his head.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah calling the operation a “major success”.
They were killed in the exchange of fire that took place in a forest along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border.
Who was Jayaram Reddy alias Chalapati?
Jayaram Reddy was known by several aliases - Ramachandra Reddy, Apparao, and Ramu. But the most prominent was Chalapati, according to NDTV.
Chalapati, 60, was from Madanapalle in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, and had studied till Class 10.
Despite his modest educational background, he had risen to prominence in the Maoist ranks, becoming a cadre of the Central Committee Member (CCM), a top decision-making body within the organisation.
Such a key position, which made him privy to sensitive operations of the banned outfit, drew a bounty of Rs10 million crore. The value of the bounty also suggests how important a target he was for the security forces.
Chalapati was familiar with the dense and impenetrable forests of Bastar. His security detail comprising 8-10 personal guards bears a testament to his importance within the Maoist network, NDTV said.
Armed with advanced weaponry like AK-47s and SLR rifles, Chalapati was a frontline leader who played a crucial role in making strategies and leading operations.
His tactical expertise, leadership skills, and ability to mobilise resources in challenging terrains earned him notoriety as one of the most wanted Maoist leaders in the region.
Chalapati relocated his base a few months ago in view of increasing encounters in Abujhmad, to the Gariaband-Odisha border, which was deemed a safer operational zone.
The operation was launched based on intelligence about the presence of Maoists in the Kularighat reserve forest of Chhattisgarh, just five kilometres from the border of Odisha’s Nuapada district.
A large cache of firearms, ammunition and IEDs, including a self-loading rifle, were recovered from the encounter site, an official said. A massive search operation is underway in the area.
Amit Shah, who has vowed to eradicate Maoists by March 2026, called the encounter “another mighty blow to Naxalism”.
“Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat. The CRPF, SoG Odisha, and Chhattisgarh Police neutralised 14 Naxalites in a joint operation along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border,” he posted on X.
“With our resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of our security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today,” Shah added.
“Another mighty blow to Naxalism,” he said in a statement.
Shah said that “Naxalism is breathing its last”.
New Delhi has stepped up efforts to end the decades-long conflict. Tuesday’s clashes follow the killing of 12 Maoists on January 16, also in the guerrillas’ heartlands in the forests of India’s Chhattisgarh state.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the decades-long insurgency waged by the rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalised people in India’s resource-rich central regions.
Around 287 rebels were killed in 2024, according to official figures.
The rebels, also known as Naxalites after the district where their armed campaign began in 1967, were inspired by the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.
Police said reinforcements had been sent to the area.
“Forces are still inside the forest,” said Vivekananda Sinha, head of Chhattisgarh’s anti-Maoist operation.
The Maoists demand land, jobs and a share of the region’s immense natural resources for local residents.
They made inroads in a number of remote communities across India’s east and south, and the movement gained in strength and numbers until the early 2000s.
New Delhi then deployed tens of thousands of troops in a stretch of territory known as the “Red Corridor”.
The conflict has also seen a number of deadly attacks on government forces. A roadside bomb killed at least nine Indian troops this month.
Such a key position, which made him privy to sensitive operations of the banned outfit, drew a bounty of Rs10 million crore. The value of the bounty also suggests how important a target he was for the security forces.
Chalapati was familiar with the dense and impenetrable forests of Bastar. His security detail comprising 8-10 personal guards bears a testament to his importance within the Maoist network, NDTV said.
