Published Feb 24, 2026 | 8:46 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 24, 2026 | 8:46 PM
Telangana Director General of Police B Shivadhar Reddy accepted their surrender.
Synopsis: Telangana Police on Tuesday formally confirmed the surrender of four senior leaders of the proscribed CPI (Maoist) before the Director General of Police. The police said the leaders cited shrinking support, internal conflicts and fragmentation within the Central Committee, which they said now has only one active member. Official data show the number of Maoist cadres from Telangana has fallen from 124 in 2023 to 11 in 2026 following large-scale security operations.
The Telangana Police have confirmed the surrender of four senior leaders of the proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist).
Politburo Member Tippiri Thirupati alias Devuji alias Kumma Dada, Central Committee Member Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram, Telangana State Committee Secretary Bade Chokka Rao alias Damodar alias Jagan, and State Committee Member Nune Narsimha Reddy alias Ganganna alias Sannu Dada formally renounced violence in the presence of Telangana Director General of Police B Shivadhar Reddy, the police said in a statement issued on Tuesday, 24 February.
Calling the surrender of the four senior-most leaders a “moral victory”, Telangana Police reiterated their appeal to remaining underground cadres, especially those native to the State, to abandon violence and return home.
“Lay down arms and leave the underground, join the mainstream of public life,” the DGP said.
Under the Telangana Government’s Rehabilitation Policy, the four Maoist leaders were eligible for a reward of ₹90 lakh. The amount was disbursed through demand drafts and cheques under the State and Centre’s relief and rehabilitation framework.
Police said all benefits under the rehabilitation policy would be extended to help them rebuild their lives with dignity and security.
Devuji, 62, a native of Korutla town in Jagtial district, had spent 44 years underground and was serving as a Politburo Member and Central Military Commission in-charge. He had also functioned as the organisation’s official spokesperson under the name ‘Abhay’ after senior leader Mallojula Venugopal alias Sonu surrendered.
Raji Reddy, 76, from Shastrulapalle village in Peddapally district, had been underground for 46 years. A veteran of the movement since the 1970s, he served in multiple roles, including as a Central Committee Member guiding the Dandakaranya region and later heading the Chhattisgarh–Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee.
Damodar, 47, from Kalvapalli village in Mulugu district, had served as Secretary of the Telangana State Committee since January 2025. He had been underground for 28 years and was earlier in charge of military affairs for the State Committee.
Ganganna, 62, a native of Vallur village in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, had been underground for 36 years. A State Committee Member, he most recently served in the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) 1st Battalion under the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and was later shifted to the Telangana State Committee.
All four entered the movement during their student years. They initially associated with the Radical Students Union (RSU) before joining the armed wing of the then CPI (ML) People’s War, which later merged in 2004 to form CPI (Maoist).
Devuji joined the People’s War Group in January 1982 and was sent to Dandakaranya in 1984 by Muppala Laxman Rao alias Ganapathi. Over the decades, he rose through the ranks from area commander to Divisional Committee Member, Special Zonal Committee Member and Central Committee Member in 2001. In 2017, he was elected Politburo Member and took charge of the Central Military Commission.
Raji Reddy’s political journey began in 1971. Police arrested him in the mid-1970s in connection with the Korutla and Jagtial cases, but he resumed underground activity after his release. He worked extensively in the Gadchiroli and Dandakaranya regions and was promoted as a Central Committee Member in 1990. Police arrested him again in Kerala in 2007 and released him in 2009, after which he rejoined the underground structure and continued to guide zonal committees until his surrender.
Damodar joined the movement in December 1998 and rose steadily through the ranks from party member to commander, Divisional Committee Member and State Committee Member in 2015. He became Telangana State Committee Secretary in January 2025 and held the post until he decided to surrender.
Ganganna, a BSc graduate who briefly studied law at Nagarjuna University, joined the RSU in 1987 and later became active in armed squads. Police arrested him in 2002 and again in 2010, but he returned to underground activity after each release. Over time, he handled political education responsibilities in the Andhra–Odisha border areas, the Bihar–Jharkhand zones and Dandakaranya before being moved to Telangana in 2025.
The surrendered leaders reportedly acknowledged a widening gap between doctrinal rhetoric and ground realities, shrinking support bases and intensifying internal conflicts. Police also described “leadership fragmentation” within the Central Committee. Officials further said the Central Committee is now restricted to only one active member, which shows severe organisational attrition.
Data released by police show a sharp decline in the number of Maoist cadres native to Telangana. In 2023, 124 cadres from the State were underground. The number fell to 99 in 2024, 55 in 2025 and now stands at 11 in 2026.
The remaining 11 include two Central Committee Members, three State Committee Members, two Divisional Committee-level leaders and four Area Committee Members. Only two are reportedly working within the Telangana State Committee. The rest are operating in other states, including Chhattisgarh.
Between 2025 and 2026 alone, 544 underground cadres, including four Central Committee Members, 15 State Committee Members, 25 Divisional Committee Secretaries, 63 Area Committee Members and 437 party members, surrendered before the Telangana Police.
Further, surrender data for 2024–2026 show that 591 cadres across ranks have laid down arms. Police recovered 142 firearms during this period.
Police said continuous security operations disrupted supply lines, shrank mobility corridors, eroded support bases and deepened ideological dissatisfaction. They said this cumulative pressure has pushed the CPI (Maoist) towards imminent structural collapse.
