Top Maoist leaders willing to surrender: DGP Mahendar Reddy

Hyderabad: Key Maoist leaders Azad and Raji Reddy alias Venkatesh are willing to surrender and join the social mainstream due to health problems, Director General of Police M Mahendar Reddy said on Friday. “The CPI (Maoist) party leadership, however, is not allowing them to surrender,” he said. Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected the entire world, […]

Hyderabad: Key Maoist leaders Azad and Raji Reddy alias Venkatesh are willing to surrender and join the social mainstream due to health problems, Director General of Police M Mahendar Reddy said on Friday. “The CPI (Maoist) party leadership, however, is not allowing them to surrender,” he said.

Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected the entire world, also left the Maoist party in crisis due to lack of proper healthcare facilities, he said, adding that Azad and Raji Reddy’s health condition had at one time deteriorated but they recovered subsequently. The cadre was also caught in a state of disappointment in the wake of Covid and various diseases in forest and the best example was that of Telangana State Secretary Haribushan alias Yapa Narayana who died of Covid.

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“Maoist leaders are willing to come out of the party and join the social mainstream but the leadership is sending armed dalams and threatening them not to surrender,” Mahender Reddy said, addressing a press conference to announce the surrender of Haribushan’s wife Jajjeri Samakka alias Sharada.

“It’s an appeal to Maoists to join the mainstream so that they can get proper treatment along with rehabilitation package from the State government,” he said.

“You (Maoists) could either die in an encounter or in an exchange of fire if you continue in the party or die of health issue. For the last 40 years, their ideology of power through the barrel of the gun did not yield any result. Please think of joining the mainstream so that you can stay with your families and friends,” he said.

Stating that so far, 10 Maoists had died of Covid, the DGP said that in Haribushan’s case, the party tried to hide the truth fearing exodus of cadre from the party, but had to ultimately announce that he died of Covid. So far, no one has been appointed as Telangana State Secretary and Maoist leader Damodar was continuing as in-charge while Chandranna was supervising the operations in Telangana, the police chief said.

According to him, there are 115 members in Telangana State Committee. Of them, only 14 members are from Telangana and 90 per cent of them were from Chhattisgarh and Gutti-Koya community settled in Cherla in Bhadradri Kothagudem district.

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