The Maoists suffered a major setback in the Chhattisgarh encounter. 18 Maoists were killed in police firing on Friday. Among them, a key leader of the Maoist Party and the party’s Telangana state secretary, Bade Chokka Rao alias Damodar, was killed in the firing.
The Maoist Party released a letter stating that Damodar was dead. Damodar hails from Kalvapalli in Mulugu district and has worked in the Maoist Party for almost 30 years. He gradually rose in the party and was elected as the Telangana state secretary of the Maoist Party six months ago.
After the death of Haribhushan, who was the state secretary, during the Covid period, the Telangana party handed over the responsibilities to Bade Chokka Rao in his place. Meanwhile, Bade Chokka Rao’s wife Rajita was arrested by the police in 2023.
In a media release, Maoist Party South Bastar Secretary Ganga stated that besides Chokka Rao, another Telugu leader Narasimha Rao was also among the dead. After working in the Maoist party for more than three decades and threatening the police, Damodar became known as the most wanted Maoist.
There is a reward of Rs. 50 lakh on Damodar in Chhattisgarh, and a reward of Rs. 25 lakh in Telangana. He was also in-charge of Maoist action teams. Cobra battalion constables were injured in an incident where a landmine planted by Maoists exploded in the Basaguda forest area of Bijapur district.
After receiving solid information that there was a Maoist camp in that forest area, the police conducted a combing operation for Naxals. On that occasion, 18 Maoists were killed in an encounter between the Maoists and the police, and Damodar was among them, the Maoist party said.
Bade Chokka Rao alias Damodar’s brother Bade Nageswara Rao was also active in Maoist movement and became a fugitive. He was working as the District Secretary of the People’s War Group of Warangal district when he died in an encounter in the Laknavaram forest area.
A search operation was conducted under the joint command of about 1,500 forces from Cobra and CRPF along with DRG jawans from Bijapur, Sukma and Dantewada districts. With this, it is understood that the huge plenary planned by the Maoists has been disrupted.