A senior woman Maoist commander, Gummadiveli Renuka, was killed in an encounter with security forces on Monday in the dense forested region near the border of Dantewada and Bijapur districts in Chhattisgarh's Bastar division.

Renuka, also known by several aliases including Bhanu, Chaite, Saraswati, and Damyanti, was a prominent member of the banned CPI(Maoist) and carried a total reward of ₹45 lakh—₹25 lakh from Chhattisgarh and ₹20 lakh from Telangana.

The operation was conducted by the District Reserve Guard (DRG), based on intelligence inputs about Maoist presence in the Nelgoda, Ikeli, and Belnar villages. The encounter began around 9 a.m. and lasted for nearly two hours.

Renuka's body was recovered along with an INSAS rifle, explosives, ammunition, a laptop, and Maoist literature.

Renuka had been active in the Maoist movement since 1996 and served as the editor of Prabhat Patrika, an underground publication. She was also in charge of the press team under the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and Central Regional Bureau. A native of Warangal, Telangana, she held a law degree and had familial ties to high-ranking Maoists, including her brother Gudsa Usendi, who surrendered in 2014.

Agencies