Who was Maoist leader Modem Balakrishna, underground for 25 years, killed in Chhattisgarh encounter?

Modem Balakrishna

In a decisive strike against Maoist leadership, security forces gunned down Central Committee member Modem Balakrishna, one of the most senior figures of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), during a fierce encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Gariyaband district on the Odisha border. The gun battle, which took place in the Bhaludigi forest area on Thursday, also claimed the lives of nine other Maoists.

Balakrishna, who operated under multiple aliases including Venkateswarlu, Balanna, Ramchander, Babanna, Bhaskar and Rajendra, had been underground since 1999 and was regarded as one of the organisation’s key strategists. Government sources confirmed his death, describing the operation as one of the most significant blows to the Maoist hierarchy in recent months.

According to a report by News18, Balakrishna hailed from Madikonda in Telangana’s Warangal district. He was educated in Hyderabad, completing his SSC at Sulthanbazar Government High School before pursuing his intermediate at Malakpet Junior College in the early 1980s.

His political leanings took shape under the influence of the Radical Students Union (RSU), where he drew inspiration from leaders such as Sambamurthy and Santosh Reddy. By 1983, he had joined the Maoist movement as a full-time cadre, entering the forests of Bhadrachalam to begin his underground career.

Arrests punctuated his early years. He was first detained at Bhadrachalam bus stand in 1984 and spent over two years in Warangal Central Jail. Again arrested in 1987 at Mahaboobnagar, he remained in Musheerabad Jail until 1990, when he was released in exchange for kidnapped Telugu Desam Party MLA Venkateswara Rao.

Rising through the Maoist ranks, Balakrishna was appointed district committee secretary of Mahaboobnagar in April 1991 and became a regional committee member for South Telangana shortly after. His activities, however, led to another arrest in Kurnool in 1993. He spent six years in Chanchalguda Central Jail before being released on conditional bail in 1999 — a turning point after which he went underground permanently.

Balakrishna later emerged as secretary of the Odisha State Organising Committee, consolidating Maoist activities across the region. In recent years, he was leading the western bureau under the Odisha State Committee of CPI (Maoist), positioning him at the heart of operational and strategic planning along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border, as per News18.

Security analysts have long regarded him as a crucial figure in maintaining Maoist networks in the area. His death, they argue, will significantly disrupt insurgent command structures and weaken the Maoists’ ability to coordinate cross-border operations.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) said the encounter was carried out by troops of the C/207 CoBRA unit in coordination with Gariyaband police. The CRPF confirmed: “A fierce encounter with Naxals is ongoing. Ten Naxals, including Central Committee and State Committee members, have been neutralised.” Arms and ammunition were also recovered from the site.

The Chhattisgarh Police, in its statement, observed: “As per initial reports, a senior Naxal commander has been neutralised. The encounter is still ongoing and reports indicate several Naxals have been killed.”

Officials stressed that the death of Balakrishna represents not just the elimination of a top commander but also a symbolic victory against an armed movement that has battled the state for decades.

Balakrishna’s trajectory from a student activist in Hyderabad to one of the longest-serving underground leaders of the CPI (Maoist) underscores the endurance of left-wing extremism in central India. His nearly 40-year career witnessed multiple imprisonments, strategic leadership roles and command of critical border zones.

Modem Balakrishna’s elimination is expected to leave a vacuum within Maoist ranks, at least in the short term, while emboldening security agencies in their continuing counter-insurgency operations in the region. Further identification of other slain cadres and recovery details are awaited.