Maoist party headless, rudderless, leaderless; movement nearing end in Telangana: DGP Shivadhar Reddy

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], February 24 (ANI): Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) B Shivadhar Reddy on Tuesday said the Maoist movement in the state is "almost at the end of its run" with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) currently running "headless, rudderless, leaderless."
Speaking to ANI, Reddy explained that no central leadership has emerged following the failure to convene a Central Committee meeting due to intense security operations.
"Now nobody is leading the Maoist party. It is almost in tatters. The expectation was that Devuji would become the general secretary, but after talking to these people who have come out now, it shows that the Central Committee Meeting could not be held because of the huge repressions. So, they are saying that since no Central Committee Meeting was held, nobody could be chosen as the general secretary. So, as of today, the party is headless, rudderless, leaderless," he said, adding that the Maoists are merely moving across regions to evade police combing operations.
"There is no regrouping as such to the best of my knowledge; they may be moving from one part to the other to escape the Police's combing operations," he added.
According to Reddy, only 11 Maoist cadres remain underground in Telangana, including senior leader Muppala Lakshmana Rao, alias Ganapathy.
"There are 11 cadres still remaining underground, who are natives of Telangana. This includes Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy. Apart from Lakshmana Rao, among the remaining 10, only 1-2 are active cadres; the rest are all not very active. I have already made an appeal to them to lay down arms and come out in the open," the DGP said.
"So, the movement which began in Telangana is now almost at the end of its run in the state. It is ending in Telangana. I again appeal to them to surrender," he added.
DGP Reddy further said that authorities are trying to establish contact with his close associates to facilitate surrender.
"The information we have is that Ganapathy is not in the forest area. He is somewhere outside, maybe in some town or somewhere. We are trying to establish some contact with the people who are close to Ganapathy. We expect that he will also come out (to surrender)," Reddy added.
The remarks come in the wake of a major breakthrough under Operation Kagar, with senior Maoist leader Thippiri Tirupathi, alias Devuji, surrendering to the Telangana State Intelligence Bureau along with 16 other Maoists, including Central Committee member Rajireddy, as per the sources.
Operation Kagar-2, an intensified anti-Naxal campaign by the Centre, had specifically targeted these leaders, with a March 31 deadline set to eradicate Naxalism nationwide.
The surrender marked a significant success for security agencies in their intensified anti-Naxal campaign. Sustained pressure from security forces is believed to have played a crucial role in prompting the senior leadership of the CPI (Maoist) to surrender.
Two Maoists were killed last week in an exchange of fire with the security personnel in the Kandhamal district of Odisha.
Sanjeeb Panda, Additional Director General (ADG) of Police, Anti-Naxal Operations (ANO), stated that the encounter took place in the Karada forest area within the jurisdiction of Raikia police station in Kandhamal district.
Meanwhile, former CPI (Maoist) leader Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Sonu Bhupathi, appealed to Maoist cadres still operating in the jungles to lay down arms, saying they have to be alive to realities and cannot remain trapped in dogma.
Admitting failures, he stated that the time has come for those involved in armed struggle to return to the mainstream and work among the people.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with ANI, Sonu Bhupathi, who surrendered on October 15, 2025, along with 60 members of the outlawed People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), said changing ground realities have made continued "armed struggle" impractical and urged remaining cadres to follow the same path. (ANI)