130 Maoist cadres surrender in Telangana, major blow to PLGA

A total of 130 CPI (Maoist) cadres surrendered, handing over 124 weapons and over 5,000 rounds of ammunition. With only seven cadres still underground in Telangana, officials say the mass surrender deals a serious blow to the PLGA

Hyderabad: In a major development, 130 CPI (Maoist) cadres of different ranks surrendered before the government on Saturday. The surrendered Maoists handed over 124 arms including a US carbine, a Fusil Automatique Léger (FAL) rifle, 31 AK 47 rifles, 21 INSAS rifles, and other weapons, along with 5,205 live ammunition rounds.

Those who surrendered include five from Telangana and AP – Chalasani Navatha alias Chandra, a State Committee Member who carried a reward of Rs 20 lakh; Uthimi Anil Kumar alias Bhagath Singh, Area Committee Member who carried a reward of Rs 4 lakh; K Bhavani alias Sugana, Area Committee Member, carried a reward of 4 lakh; Badise Ungaiah alias Venkatesh, who carried reward of Rs 20 lakh, and Madavi Adime alias Sangetha, Area Committee Member who carried a reward of Rs 4 lakh.

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The reward amount was handed over to them. The remaining cadres belong to Chhattisgarh.

After the surrender, only seven Maoist cadres from Telangana remain underground and associated with the party. “Of them, only one Area Committee Member is active in Telangana,” said Telangana DGP B Shivadhar Reddy.

The mass surrender of cadres belonging to the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army is seen as a major blow to the Maoists. The PLGA is considered the ‘magic weapon’ of the party and surrender of huge numbers of the guerrillas reportedly caused a significant damage to the organisation.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy asked the Maoist cadres who are still underground to lay down their weapons and surrender before the March 31 deadline set by the Union government. “I appeal to the Maoists, including senior leader Ganapathi, to lay down arms. The State government will look into the issues of the Maoists and help them lead a normal life,” he said.