A top Maoist leader has been killed fighting with Indian security forces in the central state of Chhattisgarh. Nambala Keshava Rao, who is also known by several alias, including Basavaraju, was among 27 rebels killed on Wednesday, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said. One police officer was also reported to have died in the fighting.

Military operations have intensified in recent weeks as the government has set a deadline of next year to defeat a decades-old Maoist insurgency.

Mr Shah noted that Rao was the first Maoist leader of such high rank to be killed in nearly 30 years. The home minister hailed the operation as a landmark success, while prime min