HYDERABAD: People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Battalion commander Badse Sukka alias Deva and Maoist Telangana state committee member Kankanala Raji Reddy alias Venkatesh, along with 18 other CPI (Maoist) underground cadres, surrendered with 48 firearms before the Telangana police on Saturday.
Director General of Police B Shivadhar Reddy said the strength of the PLGA had come down from over 400 cadres to 66. With Raji Reddy’s surrender, the Maoist Telangana state committee now has only one member.
“This surrender sounds the death-knell to the PLGA and the Telangana state committee of the CPI (Maoist). The surrendered cadres walked out with the arms dumps of the PLGA, including those associated with Hidma and Badse Sukka alias Deva,” the DGP said.
The surrendered cadres handed over 48 weapons, including two LMGs, one US-made Colt rifle, one Israel-made Tavor rifle, eight AK-47s, 10 INSAS rifles, eight SLRs, four BGLs, 11 single-shot weapons, two grenades and one air gun. They also surrendered 2,206 rounds of ammunition, including 19 “helicopter shots”.
Sukka top tribal leader among Maoists
“It is very rare for surrendered Maoists to hand over this much ammunition in the recent past,” the DGP said.
Appealing to remaining PLGA members to surrender, Shivadhar Reddy said: “PLGA’s last remaining fortress collapsed following the surrender of Badse Sukka.”
He said the Maoist Telangana state committee had also been pushed to the brink as only one member remained with the surrender of Raji Reddy.
Badse Sukka was the second most important tribal leader in CPI (Maoist). A contemporary of Madavi Hidma, he joined the CPI (ML) People’s War Group in 2003. He later became skilled in military strategy, explosives procurement, firearm manufacturing and IEDs. After Hidma’s promotion in November 2023, Sukka was selected as PLGA commander.
The DGP said Sukka was involved in several ambushes, including Jhiram Ghati, in which Chhattisgarh minister Mahendra Karma and several Congress leaders were killed. In 2024, due to police pressure in south Bastar, Devuji, Hidma, Chandranna Damodar and other formations shifted to the Kareguttalu Hills. Sukka was made in-charge of the area for security and logistics, he said.
Sukka reorganised PLGA formations in the Kareguttalu Hills and prevented major damage during security force operations, the DGP said, adding that Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and the NIA had announced a combined reward of Rs 75 lakh on him.
The total reward on all the Maoists who surrendered on Saturday was `1.81 crore, which would be paid to them, the DGP said. The 20 cadres surrendered under the state and Union government rehabilitation policy. An interim relief of Rs 25,000 each was handed over to them.
The DGP said Raji Reddy joined the PWG in April 1997, became a district committee member in 2010 and was elevated to the state committee in December 2019. He played a role in establishing and strengthening the guerrilla base in the Kareguttalu Hills.
After Raji Reddy’s surrender, except for Telangana Maoist state secretary Damodar, there were no other members in the state committee, the DGP said.
The surrendered cadres said their decision was driven by Maoist leadership practices, including arbitrary deployment to unfamiliar and distant areas without consent.
Speaking to the media, Raji Reddy appealed to other Maoists to surrender. “At this time, with technology and communication, war is not possible. The government has assured rehabilitation for surrendered Maoists,” he said.
The DGP said there were currently 17 underground Maoist cadres active across the country. Initially, the police believed around 50 were from Telangana, but later found only 17 belonged to the state. The remaining underground cadres appeared to have left the Maoist party, based on information provided by those who surrendered, he said.