Bijapur, June 6 -- In a blow to naxalism in Chhattisgarh, the death of a top naxal leader and Central Committee Member (CCM), Sudhakar (alias Gautam), in Bijapur district marks the second such successful high profile anti-naxal operation by security forces in just over 3 weeks, Bastar's Inspector General P Sundarraj said.

Gautam, the leader of the banned CPI(Maoist) organisation, was neutralised by security forces on June 5 during an operation in Bijapur's national forest area. Just 3 weeks ago, on May 21, security forces had recovered the body of a Central Committee Politburo member and CPI (Maoist) General Secretary Basava Raju in a massive operation in Abujmarh area in Narayanpur district, in which 26 other naxals were neutralised. Ra...