Amaravati, March 30. Senior Maoist leader Chelluri Narayana Rao alias Suresh, a member of the CPI-Maoist's Central Committee and Secretary of the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee, along with eight other cadres, surrendered to the Andhra Pradesh Police on Monday.
Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta presented the surrendered Maoists to the media here.
Narayana Rao, who was born in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, worked for the CPI-Maoist party for about 36 years in various positions. He was carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh.
Narayana Rao, who joined the Maoist movement in 1990, participated in some major offences, including the killing of MLAs Kidari Sarveswara Rao and Siveri Someswara Rao in the Visakhapatnam district in 2018 and the murder of three police officers.
Reasons for his surrender include his death, arrest, and surrender; disillusionment with the obsolete Maoist ideology; lack of local public support and recruitment; the attractive surrender and rehabilitation policy of the Andhra Pradesh government; and extensive police outreach programs and government welfare and development activities in the interior tribal areas, which have distanced the tribals from the Maoists.
Other cadres who surrendered include: Kartam Lachhu, Company Platoon Commander, People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) battalion; Podium Raje alias Rame, Area Committee Member (ACM), 13th Platoon, National Park area; Kartam Adame alias Nangi, Platform Party Committee Member (PPCM), PLGA battalion; Muchaki Masa alias Ajith, ACM, Kandhamal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) DVC, Odisha State Committee; Madvi Jogi alias Rukuni, PPCM, Muchaki Laxman alias Lakma, and Kadithi Hurre alias Urra, all party members.
According to the surrender and rehabilitation policy of Andhra Pradesh, the surrendered Maoists will receive the reward amount they were carrying. Narayana Rao will receive Rs 25 lakh, while others will receive an amount ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh each.
Officers also displayed 19 weapons that had been recovered by operational parties. These included an INSAS, 2 BGLs, five .303 rifles, 5 SBBL, and 6 other weapons.
DGP Gupta stated that in the last one year, the state police had achieved notable successes in tackling left-wing extremists. There were seven instances of exchange of fire, in which 18 cadres were neutralised, including 3 CCMs (Madavi Hiduma, Gajarla Ravi @ Uday, Metturi Jogarao @ Tech Sankar), and 3 SZCMs (Venkata Ravi Chaithanya @ Aruna & Kakuri Pandanna @ Jagan, Madakam Raje).
The Andhra Pradesh Police also assisted the Chhattisgarh and Odisha Police in several exchanges of fire, in which 2 CCMs and tens of other important Maoist cadres were neutralised.
He also thwarted the evil plans of Maoist underground cadres, who were planning to commit sensational offences in Krishna, Eluru, NTR, Kakinada, and Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema Districts, by arresting 50 cadres and seizing several arms and ammunition.
According to the DGP, 31 cadres, including 3 Action Team members and other Maoist cadres, were arrested, while 106 cadres, including a CCM and 2 SZCMs, surrendered. Police recovered a total of 120 weapons in the last one year.
The DGP praised the officers and staff of the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB), Greyhounds, and District Police for their sustained efforts in tackling Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in the state and across the country over the past decades. SIB and Greyhounds have emerged as role models for other states in successfully transforming counter-insurgency strategies from conventional policing to specialised guerrilla warfare and target-based intelligence operations.
He claimed that after a sustained counterinsurgency effort, the police had successfully reduced the underground cadre strength moving into Andhra Pradesh to zero.