RAIPUR, Jan 23 – Jairam alias Chalapathi, a senior Maoist leader with a ₹1 crore bounty on his head, was killed in a joint security operation along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border, officials said on Wednesday.
Chalapathi, whose real name was Ramachandra Reddy, was wanted for his involvement in several high-profile attacks, including the 2008 Maoist ambush in Odisha’s Nayagarh district, which left 13 security personnel dead. He was killed on Tuesday during an encounter that also resulted in the deaths of 14 other Maoists.
The elusive leader had evaded capture for years, but a key breakthrough came in May 2016, when security forces recovered a smartphone abandoned after a gunfight in Andhra Pradesh. The phone contained a selfie of Chalapathi with his wife, Aruna, which led to his identification and the announcement of the ₹1 crore bounty.
Chalapathi hailed from Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh and was primarily active in the Maoist strongholds of Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In recent years, he operated in the Bastar region but faced mobility challenges due to knee problems, officials said.
The operation was carried out by a coordinated effort involving the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), CoBRA unit, and Odisha’s Special Operation Group (SOG). A senior police officer described the encounter as a significant victory in the ongoing fight against Maoism. Union Home Minister Amit Shah commended the security forces for their successful operation, calling it a “mighty blow to Naxalism.”
“With sustained joint efforts by security forces, Naxalism is on a steady decline in India,” Shah said in a statement. The government has intensified anti-Maoist operations in recent years, focusing on the regions of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh, which have been hotbeds of Maoist activity.
