Setback to naxals as arms expert Narahari surrenders

The 64-year-old had also served as Secretary of the CPI (Maoist) Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee and is widely regarded as an expert in arms fabrication.

Hyderabad: In a further blow to the outlawed CPI (Maoist), senior Central Committee member Pasunuri Narahari, alias Vishwanath, surrendered before Telangana Director General of Police C V Anand in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The 64-year-old had also served as Secretary of the CPI (Maoist) Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC) and is widely regarded as an expert in arms fabrication and repair.

His surrender is also being seen as a near-fatal blow to the organisation's last surviving Eastern Regional Bureau, which is now said to be on the verge of collapse.

His wife, Medara Danamma also known as Latha, and a member of the State Committee surrendered alongside him. Deteriorating health is believed to have prompted the decision.

With Narahari's surrender, only two senior members are thought to remain active in the Maoist top leadership, Vartha Sekhar and Muppala Lakshmana Rao, alias Ganapathy. Both have reportedly remained underground for decades and are said to be grappling with serious health conditions of their own.

The surrender comes amid sustained anti-Maoist operations and mounting pressure from security forces across Left Wing Extremism-affected regions. In recent years, Telangana Police and intelligence agencies have intensified efforts to encourage senior cadres to come forward under rehabilitation policies offering financial assistance and reintegration support.

Born in Somidi village, Kazipet Mandal, Hanmakonda District, Narahari was educated at local government schools before pursuing intermediate studies at Government Junior College, Hanmakonda. He enrolled for a degree at LB College, Warangal, but discontinued midway after becoming drawn into the Radical Students Union (RSU).

In 1982, under the influence of the late Puli Anjaiah then Secretary of the CPI (ML) People's War Andhra Pradesh State Committee he formally joined the movement and became part of the Kunta Dalam operating in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh.

His rise through the ranks was steady as elevated to Commander in 1986, Regional Committee Member in 2000, BJSAC State Committee Member in 2006, and Central Committee Member in 2017. He possessed extensive expertise in the manufacture and maintenance of firearms, mortars, rockets, rocket-propelled grenades, and booby traps, and also trained cadres in weapons production and repair while simultaneously handling senior technical and organisational responsibilities within the CPI (Maoist) structure. He married Medara Danamma in 1988; she too rose through the ranks to become a State Committee member.

DGP Anand confirmed that under the Telangana government's Rehabilitation Policy, Narahari has been handed a demand draft of Rs 25 lakh, while his wife Danamma has received Rs 20 lakh. Both will receive additional benefits in accordance with the state's rehabilitation framework for surrendered cadres.

Anand said the twin surrenders marked a significant setback for the CPI (Maoist). "With these developments, the organisation's last surviving Eastern Regional Bureau appears to be on the verge of collapse. Only three active underground cadres from Telangana are presently associated with CPI (Maoist) formations outside the state among them, Central Committee Member Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy," said Anand.

He appealed, on behalf of the Telangana government and the Chief Minister, to the three remaining active cadres Ganapathy, Jade Ratna Bai alias Sujatha, and Vartha Sekhar to lay down arms, rejoin the mainstream, and avail themselves of the state's surrender and rehabilitation policy.