37 Maoists Surrender Before Telangana Police Leadership
HYDERABAD: In one of the largest surrenders in the history of the CPI (Maoist), 37 cadres, including three state committee members, laid down arms before Telangana police chiefs on Saturday. Director General of Police Shivadhar Reddy, Intelligence Chief Vijay Kumar and Special Intelligence Branch head Sumathi supervised the surrender. Officials described it as the fifth-biggest surrender recorded in the state.
Fifth major mass surrender in state history
Police recalled earlier surrenders: 52 cadres in September 2021; 64 on March 15, 2024; 86 on April 5, 2024; and 38 on May 9, 2024.
Those who surrendered on Saturday include state committee members Koyyada Sambaiah alias Azad (49), Appasi Narayana alias Ramesh (70) and Muchaki Somada alias Erra (42). Several divisional and area committee members also joined the move. Eight of them handed over arms.
Arms, ammunition and rewards
The group surrendered an AK-47 rifle, two SLRs, four .303 rifles, one G3 rifle and 346 rounds. The government awarded special compensation, including ₹20 lakh each for the three state committee members, taking the total payout to ₹1.41 crore.
Azad said they quit the movement after informing Telangana state committee secretary Baddala Chokka Rao.
Only two Telangana natives in the group
Among the 37, only Azad and Ramesh are from Telangana. Azad is from Muddulagudem in Govindaraopet mandal, Mulugu district, and has been underground for 31 years. He was serving as divisional committee secretary for the Bhadradri Kothagudem–Alluri Sitarama Raju region.
Ramesh, from the FCI locality in Ramagundam mandal, Peddapalli district, headed the technical wing of the Telangana committee. Erra is from Jegurunda in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, and worked as divisional committee secretary under the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee.
Police said 12 cadres in the surrendered group belonged to the Telangana state committee, while 10 were from Chhattisgarh’s KM and BK-ASR divisions. The remaining 23, including Erra, were from the South Bastar division. Two others were from the first battalion of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army.
Only 59 Telangana Maoists still underground
According to the DGP, 59 Maoists from Telangana remain underground. He said eight of the current CPI (Maoist) central committee members are Telugu: Ganapathi, Devi, Malla Raj Reddy, Paka Hanmanthu, Pasunuri Narahari and others.
State committee members working in Telangana include Baddala Chokka Rao, Gankidi Satyanarayana Reddy, Kankanala Raji Reddy, Muppidi Sambaiah, Geereddy Pavanananda Reddy, Jode Ratnabhai alias Sujatha, Loketi Chander, Shekhar alias Mantu, Mekala Manoj and Karra Venkata Reddy. Four are from Telangana and the rest from Chhattisgarh.
DGP rejects claim on Hidma tip-off
The DGP rejected allegations that Telangana police passed information about Maoist commander Hidma to Andhra Pradesh police ahead of an encounter. “The claim is completely baseless,” he told reporters.
He said mass surrenders are rising due to declining public support, a weakened organisational network, health issues among cadres, fear of encounters, ideological differences and state rehabilitation policies. Police officials also said surrendered women cadres from Chhattisgarh expressed interest in pursuing education.
