‘Grandpa, come home': Granddaughter of top Maoist commander Devji makes appeal
Raipur: In the turbulent wake of the encounter killing of topmost Maoist commander Basavaraju, an emotional letter and video message from the granddaughter of senior Maoist commander Tipiri Tirupati alias Devji has surfaced, where she pleads with him to lay down arms and return to the family.
Devji and his granddaughter, Itlu Suma Tipiri, who is in a Telangana college, have never met as he went underground long before she was born. A central committee member, Devji is considered a potential successor to Basavaraju but Suma is calling him back to the life he left behind.
Devji, known to be a ruthless Maoist commander, led the 2007 attack on Geedam police station in Dantewada, which was the first of many brutal ambushes to follow.
He heads Maoist 'military commission', in effect the head of PLGA, the same post that Basavaraju held before being made CPI(Maoist) general secretary in 2018.
A day ago, Bastar IG P Sundarraj had issued a blunt warning to Maoist commanders: surrender or die. "We consistently get information about the locations of top Maoist leaders. They can be eliminated anytime by security forces. They have only one option now: surrender and join the mainstream or get killed by security forces," Sundarraj said.
Suma appears to realise the fate that may befall her grandpa.
"Dear grandfather, please come home. I send you my heartfelt greetings. I've always longed to meet you, but sadly never got the chance. Whenever I read about you in the media, I feel both pride and pain. I know you gave everything to the cause of an egalitarian society, but recent events have been deeply saddening," she says, adding: "You've seen and achieved so much, but now we ask you to come back.
Your family waits at the door.
Please don't forget us." Suma questions the state's ongoing anti-Maoist operations, particularly 'Operation Kagaar' -- a high-intensity crackdown launched in Maoist-affected areas of Chhattisgarh.
"Why aren't similar actions taken against infiltrators from Pakistan and Bangladesh? It pains me to see people celebrating the killing of Maoists with sweets. These are also human lives," she argues, without mentioning Indian forces' continued battle against Pak-backed terrorism and the recent Op Sindoor.
She reflects on the motivations that drew many, including her grandfather, to the Maoist insurgency, and ends her message with the plea: "You left to stand for the people. But now, your people — your family — are calling you home. Please come back. We are still waiting, with open arms and open hearts."
The letter comes two days after TOI reported that Devji and Sonu were believed to be the most probable to become CPI(Maoist) general secretary after Basavaraju's death.
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