Hyderabad: In the biggest-ever surrender by Maoists in Telangana, 130 cadres of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) laid down their arms before Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy here on Saturday.
The Maoists, including 125 belonging to Chhattisgarh, surrendered their 124 weapons at an event held at the Integrated Command Control Centre in the presence of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Director General of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy, and other senior officials.
Police said that with this surrender, the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), the most important of the three ‘magic weapons’ of CPI (Mapost), has now completely ceased to exist.
The surrendered Maoists include three State Committee Members, one Regional Committee Member, 10 Divisional Committee Members, 40 Area Committee members, and 76 party members.
The weapons laid down by Maoists include one Light Machine Gun, 31 AK-47 rifles, 21 INSAS rifles, 20 SLR rifles, eighteen 303 rifles, and 33 other arms. A total of 5,205 live ammunition of various calibres was also handed over to the police.
The Maoists who joined the mainstream include four from Telangana and one from Andhra Pradesh.
As many as 42 Maoists of the first battalion of PLGA, 30 cadres of Telangana State Committee (TSC), 32 of Dandakarnya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), 16 of the second CRS, and 10 staff of Central Committee Members.
He declared that with today’s surrender, the Telangana State Committee of the banned outfit no longer exists.
The DGP said 250 Maoists have surrendered to the Telangana police during the last 4-5 months. A total of 721 cadres have surrendered since 2024.
He said at present only seven active underground cadres from Telangana remain in various formations across the country.
Stating that violence has no place in a democracy, the Chief Minister appealed to all remaining Maoists, including CPI (Maoist) general secretary Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathi to join the mainstream.
He told them that they have 20 days to come forward and surrender as the Centre is determined to make the country Maoist-free by March 31.
The Chief Minister said that India strongly believes that the solution to the people’s problems can be found only through peaceful, democratic means.
He said six top Maoists who surrendered recently had told him during the meeting on February 27 that if the state and the Central governments give some assurances, all underground cadres, including Ganapathi, are ready to lay down their arms.
Revanth Reddy said he subsequently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi and placed before him the proposals made by the Central Committee of the CPI (Maoist)
He said Amit Shah made it clear that Maoists have laid down arms. After meeting Amit Shah, he conveyed his message to the Maoists.
Stating that the government is sympathetic towards surrendered Maoists, he said the government is ready to withdraw the cases that can be withdrawn within the purview of law. If necessary, a committee will be formed to examine the cases, he said.
He said the government would take responsibility for providing better medical services to the surrendered Maoists.
The Chief Minister said a decision will be taken soon on increasing the financial package for the surrendered Maoists.
(IANS)
