India, May 22 -- The 25 Maoists killed in Wednesday's fierce gunfight that led to the killing of Communist Party of India (Maoist) general secretaryNambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur were members of his elaborate protection detail, officials said on Thursday.

Apart from Basavaraju, Jangua Naveen, a member of the special zonal committee, was also killed in the gunfight.

Officials said the 25 Maoists killed in the operation were members of People's Liberation Guerrilla Army's (PLGA) Company number 7 that was assigned to protect the party general secretary and top central committee members. These fighters usually operated in the dense jungles of Abujhmad.

"Twenty-five cadres of People's Liberation Guerrilla A...