Who Was Chalapati? Maoist Leader With Rs 1 Crore Bounty Killed In Chhattisgarh Encounter

Chalapati, known by several aliases- Ramachandra Reddy, Apparao, and Ramu, was killed in an encounter with security forces near the Chattisgarh-Odisha border last night.

During the operations to combat Naxal violence, at least 13 other Maoists were also killed in the Gariaband district, marking one of the most successful campaigns by security forces to cleanse the region of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE).

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had vowed to clean the footprints of Maoists in the country, called the operation a “major success” and hailed the development as a “mighty blow to Naxalism”.

“Another mighty blow to Naxalism. Our security forces achieved major success towards building a Naxal-free Bharat…With our resolve for a Naxal-free India and the joint efforts of our security forces, Naxalism is breathing its last today,” he said in an X post.

Who Was Chalapati?
Chalapati, 60, was a central figure in Maoist activities across Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region. He recently relocated to the Odisha border area to avoid the increasing encounter operations in his earlier locations.

Chalapati, originally from Madanapalle in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, completed his studies up to Class 10. Despite his limited formal education, he rose through the ranks of the Maoist movement, eventually becoming a cadre in the Central Committee Member (CCM), a top decision-making body within the organisation.

His prominent position, which granted him access to sensitive operations of the banned group, led to a Rs 1 crore bounty on his head. The size of the bounty reflects his significance as a target for the security forces.

Chalapati was well-acquainted with the dense, impenetrable forests of Bastar. His security detail, consisting of 8-10 personal guards, underscored his high status within the Maoist network.

Chalapati’s swift rise through the Maoist ranks came after he executed several high-profile attacks, including one of killing an MLA. He was also accused of being the mastermind of the September 23, 2018 attack in Dumbriguda Mandal of Araku in which Kidari Sarveswara Rao, the TDP MLA from Araku Valley, and former TDP MLA Siveri Soma were shot dead.

After years of violent attacks, the high-profile Maoist commander was eliminated by the security forces on Monday. They launched the operation based on intelligence inputs that some Maoists were holed up in the Kularighat reserve forest of Chhattisgarh, about 5 km from the Odisha border.

The operation was conducted jointly by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), SoG Odisha and Chhattisgarh Police along the inter-state border.