East divisional committee leader of CPI (Maoist) Pothuru Raja Rao alias Bhupathi, has surrendered to the police due to ill-health.
Bhupathi was involved in a number of criminal cases including kidnap of Malkangiri district collector Vineel Krishna besides playing a key role in attacks on various police stations and exchange of fire on several occasions.
Addressing a press conference here on Mondayy, Visakhapatnam Range DIG Swathi Lakra said that Bhupathi surrendered before police on Sunday.
However, he did not surrender any weapon to the police. Bhupathi carried a cash reward of Rs 3 lakh on his head.
Earlier, he was arrested in 1997 and jailed. After obtaining bail, he again joined the extremist movement. The DIG said that the Government would provide rehabilitation including the cash reward of Rs 3 lakh.
A house site or an agricultural land would be allotted for him.
Bhupathi, who was presented before the media, said that he was fed up with the movement and decided to lead a peaceful life.
"I have had a long discussion with Maoist East Division secretary Ganesh on my surrender. I told him that I wanted to surrender but there was no response from him,’’ he said.
Bhupathi said he was opposed to killing forest ranger M Madhava Rao. He said he was against bauxite mining in the Agency as it would have an adverse impact on the livelihood of tribals.