Significant Setback for CPI (Maoist) as Top Leaders Surrender

In a major blow to CPI (Maoist), Pasunuri Narahari and his wife Medara Danamma surrendered to Telangana police. Their surrender marks a setback for the organization, as Telangana police emphasize the success of their rehabilitation policies.

The outlawed CPI (Maoist) suffered another setback on Tuesday with Central Committee member Pasunuri Narahari alias Vishwanath surrendering before Telangana DGP C V Anand here.

Narahari (64) is also the secretary of the CPI (Maoist)'s Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC).

His wife, Medara Danamma alias Latha, a State Committee member, also surrendered before the police.

'Today's surrender of two top-ranking leaders-Narahari and Danamma-marks a significant setback to the CPI (Maoist). With this, the organisation's last surviving Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB) appears to be on the verge of collapse,' Anand told reporters.

The DGP said the Maoist couple had been suffering from dengue and malaria.

The Telangana police had been providing them medical treatment at a hospital here for the past 10 days.

Narahari was born in Somidi village in Kazipet mandal of Hanumakonda district in Telangana.

He was drawn to the ideology of the Radical Students Union (RSU) while pursuing his graduation in Warangal and went underground in 1982 after joining the People's War Group.

He worked in various capacities in the CPI (Maoist), including as a member of the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee in 2006.

He was inducted into the Central Committee in 2017.

Narahari acquired skills in making firearms, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, besides setting up booby traps and planting claymore mines and landmines.

He also trained cadres in weapons production, repair and maintenance, Anand said.

Danamma, a native of Andhra Pradesh, married Narahari in 1988 and worked with him in Jharkhand.

Danamma was arrested in Nagpur in 2004 and imprisoned for seven years. After securing bail, she again went underground and became a member of the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee in 2018.

Anand said 822 cadres had surrendered before the Telangana Police since 2024.

Under the Telangana government's rehabilitation policy, reward amounts of Rs 25 lakh for Narahari and Rs 20 lakh for Danamma were handed over through demand drafts.

A total of 264 Maoist cadres have surrendered in Telangana so far this year, the DGP said.

Only three active underground cadres from Telangana are currently working in different formations of the CPI (Maoist) outside the state, Anand said, adding that one of them is Central Committee member Muppala Laxman Rao alias Ganapathi.

He appealed to the remaining three active cadres from Telangana-Ganapathi, Jade Ratna Bai alias Sujatha and Vartha Shekhar alias Mangthu, both State Committee members-to give up armed struggle, join the mainstream and avail themselves of the Telangana government's surrender and rehabilitation policy.

'As of today, there are 47 underground cadres in the country, with 15 each in Chhattisgarh and Odisha, 13 in Jharkhand, three in Telangana and one in Andhra Pradesh,' the DGP said.

'We appeal to all of them to come out, because the days are over and society has changed. Maoist ideology has no place in modern Indian society anymore,' he said.

The challenge before the police now is to monitor surrendered cadres regularly, ensure they receive all promised benefits and prevent them from returning to underground activities, Anand said.

Responding to a query on reports of Maoist regrouping, the DGP said: 'We have to be realistic about this. There may be attempts here and there, but they do not have the momentum to sustain themselves, and we have to remain careful.'

'As a state, we cannot let our guard down. We have to monitor them and help them fully reintegrate into society. That responsibility remains with us, and we will fulfil it,' he added.

Speaking to reporters, Narahari said the CPI (Maoist)'s armed struggle had become difficult due to the losses suffered by the organisation in Dandakaranya, Jharkhand and other parts of the country.

In view of this, he said he had obtained permission from CPI (Maoist) politburo member Misir Besra to surrender before the Telangana police.

The positive aspects of the Telangana government's surrender and rehabilitation policy also influenced his decision to join the mainstream, Narahari said.

Responding to a query on the murder of senior lawyer Khaza Moizuddin in the city, the DGP said: 'There is no political angle involved, and the entire conspiracy has been busted. Very soon, you will hear the details.'

Moizuddin (63) died after allegedly being run over by unidentified assailants in an SUV on May 23.

Based on a complaint filed by Moizuddin's son, the police registered a murder case.

His son alleged that Moizuddin had been fighting against the encroachment and grabbing of waqf properties by certain persons, who he claimed were behind the incident.