Hyderabad: In a major setback to the CPI (Maoist), People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Battalion Commander Badse Sukka alias Deva, who carried a bounty of Rs 75 lakh, surrendered before Telangana Police along with 19 other Maoists on Saturday, Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Sivadhar Reddy said.
The surrender marks the collapse of the last remaining stronghold of the CPI (Maoist) in Telangana, the DGP said, adding that the organisation’s Telangana State Committee has also been pushed to the brink of disintegration, with only one State Committee Member (SCM) now remaining.
Simultaneously, Kankanala Raji Reddy alias Venkatesh, an SCM, also surrendered, dealing a decisive blow to the PLGA and the CPI (Maoist)’s state-level leadership structure.
“This surrender signals the death knell of the PLGA Battalion and the Telangana State Committee of the CPI (Maoist),” the DGP said.
As part of the surrender, cadres handed over arms dumps associated with senior Maoist leaders, including Hiduma and Badse Deva. A total of 48 weapons were surrendered, including two light machine guns (LMGs), one US-made Colt rifle, one Israel-made Tavor rifle, eight AK-47 rifles, ten INSAS rifles, eight self-loading rifles (SLRs), four barrel grenade launchers (BGLs), 11 single-shot weapons, two grenades, one air gun, and 2,206 rounds of ammunition of various calibres.
Badse Sukka, a key tribal leader within the CPI (Maoist), was considered the second most influential after the late Madavi Hiduma. He joined the CPI (ML) People’s War Group in 2003 and rose through the ranks after receiving extensive training in military strategy, explosives procurement, weapon manufacturing and IED deployment.
Following Hiduma’s promotion and departure from the PLGA Battalion in November 2023, Sukka was handpicked as his successor and appointed Battalion Commander. Police said he was involved in several major Maoist attacks, including the Jhiam Ghati ambush, in which senior Congress leaders Mahendra Karma, Vidya Charan Shukla, Nand Kumar Patel and other party leaders were killed.
In 2024, amid intensified security force operations in South Bastar, senior Maoist leaders, including Hiduma, Devoji and Chandranna Damodar, shifted their bases to the Karregutta Hills (KGH). Sukka was deputed as in-charge of security and logistics in the region, where he reorganised PLGA formations to evade major losses during large-scale security operations, the DGP said.
In addition to Sukka, 19 other underground Maoist cadres surrendered on Saturday.
Under the Centre and state government’s surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy, a total reward amount of Rs 1.81 crore will be disbursed to the 20 surrendered cadres after completion of documentation and opening of bank accounts.
The surrender follows an appeal by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, urging Maoist cadres to renounce violence, return to the mainstream and participate in the state’s development and welfare initiatives.
According to police, the surrendered cadres cited sustained pressure from security forces, weakening of logistical networks, forced deployment to unfamiliar and distant regions, and acute shortages of essential supplies as key reasons for abandoning the organisation. These factors, they said, led to growing frustration, hardship and loss of faith in Maoist leadership, prompting them to opt for rehabilitation and a law-abiding life.
(IANS)
