Surrender within 7 months or get neutralised, Andhra Pradesh DGP warns Maoists

Time of India

3 days ago

Vijayawada: "Surrender within seven months, otherwise you will be neutralised," Andhra Pradesh DGP Harish Kumar Gupta warned Maoists on Saturday following the surrender of a Maoist couple, Jorige Nagaraju, alias Kamalesh, and his wife Medaka Jyoteeswari, alias Aruna, to security forces.
The husband-wife duo from Krishna district, who carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh, ended their decades-long underground life after getting disillusioned with Maoist ideology, the DGP said. He added that 20 active Maoists from Andhra Pradesh are still operating in the AOB area and urged them to surrender and join the mainstream.
The surrender of the two senior Maoist leaders marks a crucial step in Andhra Pradesh's counter-insurgency efforts.
Nagaraju served as a member of the state zonal committee and previously headed the East Bastar divisional committee under the Dandakaranya special zonal committee. His wife Aruna was a divisional committee member and led the mobile academic political organization school (MAPOS) in East Bastar.
Both were active in the Maoist heartland for over three decades.
Frustrated with the policies and the waning influence of the Maoist central committee, the couple chose to abandon the armed struggle, the DGP said.
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
20 Things You Should Stop Wearing After 40
TheSeniorMag.com
Undo
by Taboola
by Taboola
As part of the surrender and rehabilitation process, Gupta handed them relief cheques of Rs 20,000 each.
In a related development, police unearthed a Maoist arms dump in Alluri Sitharama Raju district following intelligence inputs. The cache included 18 modern weapons — an AK-47, two BGLs, five SLRs, two INSAS rifles, besides 606 live rounds of ammunition, 37 kilograms of CORDEX wire, and other explosive materials.
As part of the ongoing efforts to curb Maoist activities, 13 underground cadres, including divisional committee member Madakam Deva, alias Bhagath, surrendered recently and received a total of Rs 22 lakh in financial assistance. Over the past year, 48 Maoist cadres have surrendered to AP police, and provided Rs 64 lakh under the state's rehabilitation scheme.
The DGP, who reviewed the anti-insurgency operations conducted in the past one year, said six Maoists — including central committee member Uday, zonal leaders Aruna and Jagan, and divisional committee secretary Ramesh — were killed in five encounters in AP over the last 12 months.
Seven others, including a divisional committee secretary, two area committee members, and three action team operatives were arrested.
Of the 40 cadres who surrendered, two were divisional committee secretaries and 15 were area committee members.
Gupta praised the relentless efforts of police personnel working in LWE-affected areas and reiterated the govt's commitment to facilitate the safe return of Maoists to civilian life. He urged those still underground — particularly the 20 Andhra-origin cadres operating in other states — to surrender and take part in the state's development.