Telangana declares end of Maoist armed presence as 42 cadre surrender

Police said only five active underground cadres from Telangana remain operational in other states, primarily Chhattisgarh.

Hyderabad: In what Telangana Police described as the “final collapse” of the CPI (Maoist)’s organisational structure in the state, 42 cadre of the banned outfit, including a battalion commander and senior leadership from two key formations, surrendered before the Telangana Police on Friday, April 10. 

The surrender, the latest in a series of capitulations that has accelerated sharply this year, included Sodi Malla alias Keshal alias Nikhil, the in-charge commander of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Battalion and a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), one of the most senior figures to have come forward this year. 

A 47-year-old native of Sukuma district in Chhattisgarh, Sodi Malla joined the Balala Sangham in 1995 before enlisting with the CPI (Maoist) in 2001, rising through the ranks over two decades to become Deputy Commander of the PLGA Battalion in 2023 and taking charge of the battalion as recently as December 2025 following the surrender of his predecessor, Badse Deva.

Also surrendering was Chapa Narayana alias Gajendar alias Madhu, Secretary of the JMMWP and Military Chief of the Telangana State Committee (TSC), and Kadthi Sannu alias Manthu, a Divisional Committee Member of the BKASR DVC. Both were senior figures in the TSC’s command structure.

The 42 cadres belong to three formations – 21 from the PLGA Battalion, 11 from the Telangana State Committee and 10 from the DKSZC.

The Maoists also handed over 36 firearms, 1,007 rounds of ammunition and 800 grams of gold. Among the weapons surrendered were five AK-47 rifles, four SLR rifles, three INSAS rifles, six .303 rifles, a 9mm Sten gun, two 8mm rifles, 10 single-shot guns, a 9mm pistol, two revolvers, a BGL gun and an air gun. 

Two country-made grenades and 800 grams of gold, which police described as TSC funds, were also handed over. The gold was surrendered by TSC cadre Nupo Unga alias Sunil.

Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Shivadhar Reddy commended the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) for “sustained and professional efforts” that had led to the surrender.

End of the TSC

Friday’s development has particular significance for the Telangana State Committee (TSC), which the police said was now “completely neutralised.” The TSC, which once coordinated Maoist activity across the state, no longer exists as an operational body, officials said.

This follows a broader rout of the outfit’s leadership in the state. Since 2024, a total of 761 cadres have surrendered to Telangana Police, including four Central Committee members, 21 State Committee members and one Regional Committee member. In 2026 alone, just over three months in, 205 cadres have come forward, surrendering 206 firearms.

The PLGA, which the Maoists have long regarded as one of their three core “magic weapons,” has been effectively dismantled through these surrenders, the police said.

Rehabilitation and rewards

A total of Rs 1.93 crore was disbursed to the 42 surrendered cadres on Friday. The sole Telangana-native among the group, Kunjam Idumal alias Mahendar, an Area Committee member, received Rs 4 lakh. 

The remaining 41 cadres, all natives of Chhattisgarh, were handed Rs 25,000 each as interim relief, with the balance to follow once documentation and bank account formalities are completed.

The state committee members will get Rs 20 lakh, the divisional committee members will get Rs 5 lakh, area committee member will get Rs 4 lakh, and the party members will get Rs 1 lakh each.

As per the Union Home Ministry’s policy, the DGP said that Rs 5 lakh would be paid for handing over Light Machine Gun (LMG), Rs 4 lakh for an AK 47 rifle, Rs 2 lakh for INSAS rifle, Rs 2 lakh for SLR, Rs 1 lakh for .303 rifle, Rs 30,000 for 12 bore/single shot gun, and Rs 25,000 for a 9mm pistol/carbine/.38 revolver.

The DGP said health cards for all surrendered cadres would be issued within the next few days, with no treatment limit attached, fulfilling an assurance given earlier by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy that health cards would be extended to all cadres who surrendered between 2024 and 2026. 

Shivadhar Reddy also said he had written to the government to increase the reward amounts on the remaining underground cadres.

Five remain

Despite the scale of the collapse, police said only five active underground cadres from Telangana remain operational in other states, primarily Chhattisgarh. They are Muppala Laxman Rao alias Ganapathi and Pasanuri Narahari alias Santhosh, both Central Committee members; Jade Ratna Bai alias Sujatha and Vartha Shekhar alias Mangthu, both State Committee members, and Rangaboina Bhagya alias Rupi, an Area Committee member.

Ganapathi, long considered the ideological figurehead of the CPI (Maoist), has been away from active operations since 2007, though he retains his nominal position. Police described him as “the only significant cadre left from Telangana.”

The DGP said that they had information about Ganapathi being alive and well, but “certainly not in the forest.”

When asked about the claims of the surrendered top Maoists that they were arrested but did not surrender, Shivadhar Reddy said that because they were among the top ranks, they probably felt it would reduce their pride to say they “surrendered.”

He also pointed out that during any event where Maoists have quit the CPI (Maoists), the police had not used the word “surrendered,” but only stated that they “came out.”

On the suspicions raised about the police not releasing the Maoists and imposing strict control over them, the DGP sought to know the name of a single Maoist who was not enjoying freedom after surrendering.

“They are all out and meeting their family members in their native villages. I have even seen Devuji giving interviews to the media in Jagtial. They are holding parties and attending felicitation ceremonies. You are free to talk to them,” the DGP said.

The DGP even said that the media could speak to the surrendered Maoists at the event, with a caveat that they needed to understand their language (Gondi).

However, right after the Maoists surrendered before him on Friday, Kunjam Idumal was among the first to be taken away after he accepted his reward cheque. When Siasat.com asked Idumal whether he could speak in Telugu, he nodded affirmatively. When asked what his plans after this were after this, Idumal looked left and right and scurried away to a bus, accompanied by two policemen.

The DGP appealed to all the remaining five Maoists from Telangana to surrender and avail themselves of the state’s rehabilitation benefits.