India, May 21 -- General secretary of CPI (Maoist ) Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, was killed in Wednesday's encounter in Abujhmad forest, police officers said.

Basavaraju, police said, was among the 27 Maoists killed in a gun battle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Wednesday.

Union home minister Amit Shah said Basavaraju was the "backbone" of the Maoist movement,

"A landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate Naxalism. Today, in an operation in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, our security forces have neutralized 27 dreaded Maoists, including Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, the general secretary of CPI-Maoist, topmost leader, and the backbone of the Naxal movement," Shah wrote on X.

"This is the first...