427 Maoists surrendered so far this year, major success: Telangana DGP

Hyderabad: With 427 Maoists surrendering so far this year, including senior-most leaders, the Telangana police has achieved major success.

Telangana Director General of Police B Shivadhar Reddy told reporters that P Prasad Rao, 64, alias Chandranna, a Central Committee Member who had been underground for 45 years, and Bandi Prakash, alias Prabhath of the Telangana State Committee, who had been underground for 42 years, have left the CPI (Maoist) and joined the mainstream.

Prasad, a native of Peddapally district, joined the Radical Students Union in 1979 while pursuing his intermediate education. He carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh, and Prakash Rs 20 lakh.

The amounts were handed over to them through demand drafts, and they will receive additional benefits under the Telangana government’s rehabilitation policy for surrendered cadres.

Prakash, from Mancherial district, joined the Radical Youth League of the CPI (ML) People’s War in 1983.

The two leaders cited deteriorating health, sustained pressure from security forces, ideological differences, and internal rifts within the CPI (Maoist) leadership as reasons for quitting the organisation, police said.

He was most recently in charge of the Telangana State Committee Press Team and issued press statements under the name Prabhath, police said.

DGP Reddy, termed it a significant victory for the police force in their efforts against the CPI (Maoist). “The surrendered Maoists have chosen to renounce their armed struggle and embrace a peaceful life with their families,” he said.

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“There are still 64 Maoists, hailing from Telangana, who have not laid down their weapons. Of these, nine are believed to be active in the state,” the DGP said.

Maoists across Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana have been surrendering to the police amid sustained operations against their cadres and sympathisers in the forest regions of these states. Several Maoists have also been killed in exchanges of fire with security forces. Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier said the government aims to eliminate CPI (Maoist) activities in the country by March 2026.

DGP Reddy appealed to the Maoists to join the mainstream and return to their native villages. In the coming days, more senior Maoists leaders are expected to surrender before the Telangana police, he said.

Not surrender, joining civil society: Surrendered Maoist

Meanwhile, Prasad told reporters that he and Prakash left the Maoist organisation due to health issues and in response to the chief minister’s appeal to CPI (Maoist) underground cadres to return to the mainstream, in view of the prevailing situation arising out of Operation ‘Kagar’.

“We are joining the mainstream, and it’s not a surrender,” he said.

Prasad added he would continue to work for the people of Telangana and asserted that the Maoist ideology had not been “defeated.”

According to him, Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji, also from Telangana, has taken over as the CPI (Maoist) General Secretary following the death of Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, who was killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh on May 21.

He said he supports Devuji and not senior Naxalite Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupathi alias Sonu, who, along with 60 other cadres, surrendered before police in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district recently.

Venugopal, a native of Telangana and a member of the CPI (Maoist) central committee and politburo, had called for “temporarily renouncing armed struggle.”

Amid divisions within the CPI (Maoist), with one section favouring laying down arms and another supporting continued armed struggle, Prasad said there was a “split and that both leaders and cadres had chosen their respective paths.”

The copy has been updated with additional information from PTI

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