37 Maoists, including senior leaders and young women, surrender in Telangana

Telangana witnessed one of its biggest single-day Maoist surrenders this year, dealing a major blow to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

A total of 37 underground members, including senior state committee leaders and a large group of young women, laid down arms before Telangana Director General of Police B Shivadhar Reddy in Hyderabad on Saturday.

The group handed over a significant stock of weapons. The collection included an AK-47, two SLR rifles, four .303 rifles, one G3 rifle, and 343 live rounds.

Police officials called it a major success for intelligence-based operations and ongoing rehabilitation initiatives.

Among those who surrendered were key figures Koyyada Sambaiah alias Azad, 49, and Appasi Narayana alias Ramesh. Both served on the Telangana State Committee of the CPI (Maoist). Muchaki Somada alias Erra, who belonged to the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, also surrendered. Azad had been part of the Maoist movement for nearly 30 years and represented the older leadership that shaped the organisation through the 1990s.

The group included 25 women. Many were in their early twenties. They said they left the armed movement because of ideological disappointment, physical fatigue, and interest in the government’s welfare and rehabilitation schemes.

The surrender follows sustained pressure from security forces across the region. It comes after major encounters in Dandakaranya and South Bastar. In Andhra Pradesh, police recently arrested 50 CPI (Maoist) operatives after a gunfight in Maredumilli. The operation led to the deaths of Central Committee member Madvi Hidma and IED specialist Meturi Jokha Rao, also known as Tech Shankar.

Welcoming the surrender, Telangana DGP B Shivadhar Reddy said the police are now focusing on the remaining members in the state.

"There are still 64 Maoists hailing from Telangana, who have not laid down their weapons. Of these, nine are believed to be active in the state," he said.