The outlawed CPI (Maoist) suffered yet another serious setback, coinciding with the 21st anniversary of its formation, with the killing of two top Maoist leaders from Telangana in an “encounter” in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Monday.

Both the slain Central Committee Members of the CPI (Maoist), identified as Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy alias Kosa, 65, and Katta Ramchandra Reddy alias Vikalp, 61, hailed from the erstwhile composite Karimnagar district, once the hotbed of naxal activity, sources said.

Satyanarayana Reddy from Gopalraopally village, now in Rajanna Sircilla district, and Ramchandra Reddy from Tigalaguntapally village now in Siddipet district, carried a bounty of ₹40 lakh each in Chhattisgarh.  Ramchandra Reddy, who was a law graduate, held the key position of spokesperson of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) until his death. He was also known as Vikalp, Gudsa Usendi and Raju Dada among the party circles.

After suffering blow after a blow in recent months, the banned outfit had lost its two CC members in a single day in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, the epicentre of Maoist insurgency.

Meanwhile, in a statement the CPI (ML) Mass Line (Prajapandha) secretary Potu Ranga Rao condemned Monday’s “encounter” in Chhattisgarh in which two top Maoist leaders from Telangana were killed. He said, “These are cold-blooded murders. The BJP governments at the Centre and in Chhattisgarh should immediately stop Operation Kagar and hold peace talks.”