Civil rights groups 'concerned' over Maoist leader Sudhakar's death in alleged police encounter

By Harsh Thakor*

Tentu Lakshmi Narasimhachalam, also known as Sudhakar or Gautam (65), a senior leader and central committee member of the banned CPI (Maoist), was killed in an alleged encounter with police forces in the forest area of Indravati National Park in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh, on Thursday.

According to police sources, the operation was jointly conducted by the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF), and CoBRA units based on intelligence that several Maoist leaders, including Telangana State Committee Member Bandi Prakash and Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee Member Paparao, were present in the area. After a reported exchange of fire, Sudhakar’s body was recovered along with an AK-47 rifle. The search operation continues.

Sudhakar had a police bounty exceeding ₹1 crore, including separate rewards announced by Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and other states.

He was a member of the Maoist central committee and in charge of the party’s political education programs. Over the past two decades, he operated primarily from the Abujhmad region of Bastar and was active in overseeing internal training and ideological education within the Maoist ranks.

Sudhakar joined the Maoist movement in the early 1980s while studying at an Ayurveda college in Vijayawada. He later became involved with the People’s War Group and served in various capacities, including as secretary of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee from 2001 to 2003. He participated in the 2004 peace talks between the then Andhra Pradesh government led by Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Maoist representatives.

He was promoted to the CPI (Maoist) central committee in 2021 and was considered a key figure in the party’s military strategy and political training efforts.

Sudhakar was married to senior Maoist cadre Kakrala Guru Smriti alias Umakka, who was also involved in the party’s ideological programs.

Civil rights organizations have raised concerns about the nature of Sudhakar’s death, pointing to inconsistencies in the official account. They question how a central committee member, likely to be accompanied by security personnel, was the only casualty. The absence of a uniform and the condition in which his body was found have led to demands for a legal investigation into the encounter.

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*Freelance journalist

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