India, May 26 -- Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, the general secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) who was killed in a gunfight with security forces on May 21, was cremated in Narayanpur district under official supervision, the Chhattisgarh police said in a statement on Monday evening.

The state police said no legal claimants had come forward to claim his body.

"Following the operation, the authorities recovered the bodies of 27 Maoists. Of these, 20 were claimed by their family members and were handed over after due verification. However, no one came forward to claim the body of Basavaraju, who was carrying a reward of Rs.1 crore announced by the Chhattisgarh government, with additional reward from other state...