Hyderabad, February 26 When B Sumathi, a saree-clad officer, sat on the dais alongside Telangana DGP B Shivadhar Reddy, few onlookers realized that she was the silent architect of the historic event unfolding before them.
On Tuesday, top Maoist commander Thippiri Tirupati alias Devuji and other Maoist leaders laid down their arms, marking a significant victory for the state.
As the head of the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) of the Telangana Police, Sumathi oversaw the long and delicate negotiations required to bring the high-ranking insurgents back into the mainstream.
Devuji, a key member of the Central Committee of the banned organization and a member of the Politburo of the Maoist party, along with another Central Committee member, Malla Raji Reddy, and two other senior Maoist cadres, formally surrendered in the presence of state DGP B Shivadhar Reddy on Tuesday.
While addressing the media during Devuji's surrender, Reddy made a special mention of Sumathi and her team.
"They (Devuji and other Maoists) have surrendered because of the excellent efforts of Special Intelligence Branch IG Sumathi and the SIB team. They (the SIB team) played a crucial role in helping them understand the prevailing circumstances and to join the mainstream," Reddy said.
The DGP also praised IGP Intelligence Vijay Kumar for his efforts.
"The SIB team carried out a very professional intelligence operation to ensure the surrender of the senior insurgents, as they would become 'martyrs' if they lost their lives in encounters, and become 'heroes' if they were arrested. However, they would become 'zeroes' if they surrendered," police sources said about the strategy behind making Maoist leaders join the mainstream.
Unlike Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Sonu, a key Maoist leader, who surrendered to the Maharashtra government in October last year, Devuji had no plans to abandon the Maoist path, and Sumathi ensured that Devuji surrendered, police sources said.
Sumathi, a seasoned Intelligence official, has overseen the surrender of 591 Maoist leaders and cadres to the Telangana Police over the past two years.
She played an important role in executing undercover operations during her earlier stint in the counter-intelligence cell, the sources said.
A 2001 batch Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sumathi, was first posted in Warangal (then in undivided Andhra Pradesh) and was conferred IPS in 2006. She also worked as DIG, CID (Women Protection Cell).
