HYDERABAD: Three senior Maoist leaders surrendered before Director General of Police B Shivadhar Reddy at his office here on Friday, marking a significant development in the state’s ongoing efforts to wean extremists away from armed struggle.
According to police sources, the trio decided to give up arms owing to ideological differences within the CPI (Maoist) and deteriorating health conditions.
Recently, reports indicated a widening rift between top Maoist leaders Abhay and Mallojula Venugopal, who allegedly disagreed over the future of the armed movement. The factional discord, simmering for several months, is said to have deepened divisions in the party’s top ranks.
The three who surrendered are: Kunkati Venkataiah (52) alias Raghu/Vikas, a State Committee Member (SCM) who had been underground for 36 years. He served as secretary and in-charge of South Bastar DVC under the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC); Mogilicherla Venkatraju alias Erra Raju/Punnam Chander/ Satla Balaraju, also an SCM and in-charge of CNM in DKSZC, who had been underground for 35 years; and Thodem Ganga alias Gangavva / Sony, an SCM and member of Janathana Sarkar, South Bastar DVC, who had been underground for 21 years.
Speaking to the media, Venkataiah said the party was unable to adapt to the social, economic, and political changes taking place in society.
“There were discussions on these issues, but nothing worked out. Besides, there were personal reasons too. The government and police extended a positive response, which encouraged us to surrender,” he said.
A native of Kutigal village in Maddur mandal, Siddipet district, Venkataiah hails from a farming family. His wife Kodi Manjula alias Nirmala, also a state committee member of the CPI (Maoist), had surrendered in November 2024 and now resides in Warangal district.
Venkataiah completed his schooling in Cherial mandal and passed Class 10 in 1988–89. Drawn to revolutionary songs and speeches of the CPI (ML) People’s War Group during his youth, he joined the organisation after attending a major rally, Rythu Coolie Sabhalu, in Warangal in 1990.
Soon after, he was recruited into the Cherial Dalam by commander Gundeboina Anjaiah alias Balanna. Over the decades, he worked across Telangana and Chhattisgarh in various capacities.
By May 2025, citing poor health and disillusionment with the party’s ideological rigidity, he decided to return to the mainstream. Inspired by the revolutionary spirit of Gaddar’s songs, he had earlier joined the Jana Natya Mandali, a cultural wing of the movement, before rising through the Maoist ranks.
In 2019, he married Thodem Ganga alias Sony, also a state committee member. The couple have now surrendered together, citing health problems, ideological disunity, and leadership conflicts within the CPI (Maoist).
DGP B Shivadhar Reddy said that Telangana police’s holistic and comprehensive rehabilitation strategy for underground cadres has been yielding results.
“So far in 2025 alone, 412 underground cadres — including one central committee member, four state committee members, two divisional committee secretaries, eight divisional committee members, and 35 area committee members — have renounced violence and embraced a peaceful life with their families,” he said.
