Hyderabad, March 13 Former top CPI (Maoist) commander and key "strategist" of the banned outfit, Thippiri Tirupati, also known as Devuji, said on Friday that police arrested him and others before their surrender to the Telangana police on February 24.
He vowed to continue fighting for people's problems within the legal framework.
Devuji, who led an underground life for over four decades in the armed struggle, also said he and other members did not surrender to the police out of fear of death, but to work for the public while upholding their ideology – Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism – within the legal framework.
He said he never feared death, and if that were the case, he would have surrendered to the Maharashtra government along with key Maoist leaders Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu and Ashanna alias Satish in October last year.
Devuji had no plans to abandon the Maoist path, police sources earlier said.
"When Operation Kagar was in full swing, under unavoidable circumstances, we sought refuge in different places to strengthen the party. In those circumstances, the Telangana police arrested us. After the arrest, if they wanted, they could have killed us. But what they told us was that killing was not their policy. We will show surrender. But I was not ready to surrender," Deviju told TV channels.
Dismissing the notion that they surrendered before the police, the former Maoist leader said earlier they used to solve people's problems while operating underground, and now they will also do so openly through legal methods.
Deviju said he would not disseminate the ideology of Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism, and it would remain the core of their approach for solving people's problems in the future. "So, it is not correct to say that we surrendered or joined the mainstream. We are always in touch with thousands of people," he said.
Responding to a query, he said he was not the general secretary of the party, but a member of the Central Committee.
"If there had been a Central Committee or politburo, then there would have been that agenda (of him becoming the general secretary of CPI Maoist)," he said.
On February 24, Devuji surrendered to the Telangana police, after over four decades of underground life.
Besides Devuji, another central committee member, Malla Raji Reddy, and two other ultras – Bade Chokka Rao @ Jagan and Nune Narasimha Reddy @ Ganganna – also laid down their arms.
Devuji is a native of Korutla town, Jagtial district in Telangana. His father, Venkata Narsaiah, was a farmer. He joined CPI (ML) People's War in January 1982 and has mostly operated in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.