A representative image of security personnel during a search operation for Maoists.
Credit: PTI Photo
Hyderabad: In a major blow to the outlawed CPI (Maoist), 41 underground cadres including six senior functionaries of Company/Platoon Committee Member and Divisional Committee Member rank (CyPCMs/DVCMs) surrendered before Telangana DGP B Shivadhar Reddy on Friday. They also handed over 24 firearms.
Among those who surrendered was Erragolla Ravi alias Santhosh, a key member of the Telangana State Committee and head of the Mancherial division, who had been underground for 24 years.
Police noted that 11 of the surrendered cadres were members of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) military battalion, military one battalion once commanded by dreaded Maoist commander, Madvi Hidma, marking a significant depletion in the organization’s operational strength in Telangana.
According to the police, internal dissatisfaction has been rapidly growing within CPI (Maoist) ranks. The leadership, they said, has been arbitrarily deploying cadres to unfamiliar and distant areas without their consent often to regions where they lack basic geographical knowledge and local support networks.
These forced relocations have caused severe mobility constraints, logistical hardships, and shortages of essentials, pushing many cadres into frustration and disillusionment.
“Persistent pressure from security forces, the drying up of logistical support systems, and the erosion of local cooperation have sharply restricted Maoist mobility and weakened their operational capabilities,” said DGP Shivadhar Reddy.
“Ideological divergence and deep-rooted discontent between the leadership and ground-level cadres, coupled with internal rifts, factionalism, and disputes among formations, have accelerated the decline,” he said.
Harsh living conditions, deteriorating health, prolonged separation from families, and waning faith in the party’s ideology are further prompting members to abandon the armed struggle and surrender.
Police sources revealed that the CPI (Maoist) central leadership recently instructed underground cadres to move out of Chhattisgarh and disperse to other states until March 31, 2026 the Centre’s deadline for eliminating the Maoist problem. The leadership assured cadres that after this date, security operations would be scaled down and they could resume underground activities.
“This assurance is misleading and amounts to a false promise. As part of this so-called strategy, Maoist leadership has been arbitrarily transferring cadres to far-flung, unfamiliar areas without local base support or consent, exposing them to extreme hardships and loss of trust,” added Reddy.
Reiterating his appeal, Reddy called on remaining CPI (Maoist) members to reject the leadership’s deceptive directives, surrender their weapons, and reintegrate into society to lead a peaceful and dignified life under the Telangana government’s surrender and rehabilitation policy.