Maoist top brass Devji and Raji Reddy surrender in major blow to insurgency

Kumaram Bheem Asifabad: Ina major breakthrough for the Indian government’s ongoing anti-Maoist offensive, top leaders of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) surrendered to authorities in Telangana on Sunday, marking a significant setback for the insurgent movement.

According to multiple media reports, Thippiri Tirupati, better known as Devji, who had taken over as general secretary of the CPI (Maoist) roughly eight months ago after the death of former leader Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju, surrendered before the Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) in the forests of Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district on Sunday.

Devji, a veteran insurgent from Telangana’s Karimnagar (Jagtial) district carrying a substantial bounty on his head, was accompanied by Malla Raji Reddy, a Central Committee and Politburo member and 16 other Maoist cadres when they laid down their arms in the early hours of the day.

The surrender comes amid Operation Kagar, a nationwide initiative led by the Central Government aimed at eradicating Maoist insurgency by the end of March 2026. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had set a deadline of March 31 for the dismantling of left-wing extremism across insurgency-affected regions.

Senior police officials told news agencies that the leaders are currently in the custody of the Telangana Police and that a formal recording of the surrender is expected in the coming days. The authorities are likely to produce Devji, Raji Reddy and the surrendered cadres before the media in the presence of senior officials, including Telangana Director General of Police B Shivadhar Reddy.

Analysts say the surrender of a leader of Devji’s stature — widely regarded as a key strategist and organiser within the Maoist hierarchy represents one of the most significant blows to the movement in recent years. His exit is expected to unsettle the group’s already diminished command structure, which has been under sustained pressure from security operations across the central and eastern states.

The developments follow intensified security sweeps in forested border areas of Telangana and neighbouring states, aimed at isolating remaining cadres of the banned outfit and encouraging them to return to mainstream society under government rehabilitation schemes. Officials have reiterated that those who surrender voluntarily will be offered assistance and reintegration support.