Hyderabad: Senior Maoist leader Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram, a central committee and politburo member of CPI (Maoist), has reportedly surrendered before Telangana police along with 50 cadre, including top-level and middle-level leaders, in a development that officials described as a major setback to the banned outfit’s presence in the state.The development comes a day after TOI reported that top Maoist leader Devji alias Tripari Tirupathi, believed to be CPI Maoist general secretary and a central committee member, surrendered to Telangana police in Mulugu district.Raji Reddy, also known by several aliases including Sathenna, Sayanna, Meesalanna, Sagar, Alok, Deshpande, SN, Laxman, Sanghram and Murali, joined the Maoist party in 1975 and held key positions in the organisation. An official announcement of the surrenders is likely to be made by Telangana police, possibly in the presence of chief minister A Revanth Reddy or DGP Shivadhar Reddy, on Tuesday or Wednesday.According to police records, Raji Reddy, 76, hails from Shatharajpalli village, Mutharam mandal, Peddapalli district. He studied Intermediate at Govt Junior College, Manthani.After his first wife Rathnamma alias Rajakka alias Nirmala died in an alleged encounter in 1998, he married Bicha alias Suguna of Mandri, Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh. He has a daughter, Snehalatha, married to Prof C Kasim and residing in Hyderabad. His brother, Malla Bheem Reddy, works in Singareni Collieries Company Limited at Godavarikhani.Sources said Raji Reddy was believed to be operating in the National Park area of Chhattisgarh. He reportedly moved to Telangana about a month ago following intensified operations by Chhattisgarh police, DRG and CRPF CoBRA forces in that region.The Centre pushed for a deadline of March 31 while combing operations intensified from the Chhattisgarh side towards Telangana, particularly in the Karreguttalu belt. In this backdrop, the surrenders gained significance.However, sources also said that some of the Maoist leaders and cadre, now shown as having surrendered, were actually arrested by Telangana police and later persuaded to surrender formally.Following the recent surrender of Mallojula Venugopal and Ashanna, developments within the Maoist ranks have gathered pace. Officials said several weapons were seized from the surrendered cadre, including AK-47s and INSAS rifles. Twelve AK-47 rifles were found with the cadre who surrendered.With the surrender of Raji Reddy and Devji along with 50 cadre, Telangana police described it as a major development in ongoing operations against the Maoist organisation in the region.
