After Abhay, top Maoist Aashanna to surrender in Chhattisgarh
HYDERABAD: The series of Maoist surrenders continues across central India. Senior Maoist leader Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Abhay surrendered before Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday. Following his move, another top leader and Central Committee member Takkallapalli Vasudeva Rao alias Aashanna is likely to surrender before Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, sources said.
Nearly 60 Maoists, including senior woman cadre Ranita, are expected to surrender along with him. The group has reportedly reached Jagdalpur, where the ceremony will take place. They are likely to hand over their weapons to the government and return to mainstream life.
78 Maoists surrender across Chhattisgarh
On Wednesday, 78 Maoists from different districts of Chhattisgarh laid down arms. In Sukma district, 27 cadres, including 10 women, surrendered, while in Kanker district, 50 Maoists—32 of them women—gave up arms. The Kanker group included Rajaman Mandavi alias Rajmahan and Raju Salam alias Shivaprasad, both from the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee.
Authorities transported the 50-member group to Kanker in a special bus, where they surrendered seven AK-47 rifles and 17 other weapons. In Kondagaon district, a woman Maoist cadre also surrendered.
Path paved by Mallojula Abhay
The surrender of Vasudeva Rao follows the public appeal made by Abhay for peace talks. A letter written by Mallojula Venugopal under the name Abhay surfaced on March 28, calling for a “peaceful resolution through dialogue.” Subsequently, Northwest Sub-Zonal Bureau in-charge Rupesh alias Takkallapalli Vasudeva Rao released three letters and gave a video interview to a YouTuber, stressing that “problems can be resolved through talks, not guns.”
Observers note that Aashanna’s surrender immediately after Abhay’s indicates a coordinated decision by the Maoist leadership.
Key role in major attacks
Vasudeva Rao hails from Lakshmidevipet village in Venkatapuram mandal of Mulugu district. Drawn to radical movements while studying at a polytechnic in Hanumakonda, he went underground in 1989.
He was part of several major attacks by the People’s War Group, including the killing of IPS officer Umesh Chandra in Hyderabad’s SR Nagar crossroads on September 4, 1999, and the March 7, 2000 bombing that killed then united Andhra Pradesh Minister of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Alimineti Madhava Reddy.
He also led the nine-member team that carried out the Alipiri landmine attack in October 2003, targeting then Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu.
Surrender plan seen as strategic
Sources say the government planned the surrenders in different states to project the Maoist party’s weakening grip nationwide. In recent months, key Central Committee members including Chalapati, Gajarla Ganesh, Modem Balakrishna, and Chaitae have been killed in successive encounters in the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) region.
Similarly, the authorities killed Sudhakar and Mayalarapu Ade in an encounter near Indravati National Park, and operations in Jharkhand led to the deaths of Prayag Manjhi and Anju Soren. As a result, the Maoist presence has shrunk largely to Dandakaranya and southern Bastar, sources said.
To highlight this decline, Maharashtra-based cadres surrendered alongside Mallojula Abhay, while Chhattisgarh cadres are now preparing to follow Aashanna’s lead before CM Vishnu Deo Sai.
Three senior leaders from south Bastar had earlier surrendered in Hyderabad. Officials said most senior Maoist leaders are still hiding in the Mad region forests, but for those seeking safe surrender, the only practical options now are Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
