The last military fortress of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) has completely collapsed with the surrender of the most-wanted military commander of Badse Deva before the Telangana police, state director general of police B Shivadhar Reddy said on Saturday.
Deva, along with senior Telangana state committee member Kankanala Raji Reddy alias Venkatesh and 18 other Maoist party cadres who surrendered to the police on Friday, were presented before the reporters on Saturday.
“The surrender of Deva has virtually eliminated the entire People’s Liberation Guerilla Army, the military wing of the CPI (Maoist) party. Similarly, with the surrender of Raji Reddy, the Telangana state committee of the party has also been pushed to the brink of collapse with only one member of the state committee remaining,” the DGP said.
The DGP said Deva and other members of the PLGA walked out with the ‘arms dumps’ of the PLGA, including those associated with Hidma. In all, 48 weapons were surrendered, comprising two LMGs, one US-made Colt rifle, one Israel-made Tavor rifle, eight AK-47 rifles, 10 INSAS rifles, eight SLR rifles, four BGLs, 11 single-shot weapons, two grenades, and one air gun, along with 2,206 rounds of ammunition of various calibres.
About Deva, whose original name is Badse Sukka (49), the senior police officer said that he was a member of the Koya tribe from Puvarthi village of Konta block in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.
Deva was heading the first battalion of PLGA after the death of Madvi Hidma in an exchange of fire with the Andhra Pradesh police at Marredumilli forests in Alluri Sitarama Raju district on November 18.
“He is the second most important tribal leader in CPI (Maoist) and was influenced by Hidma. An expert in military strategies, procurement of explosives, manufacturing firearms, IEDs etc, Deva took part in several ambushes/raids like Jheram Ghati, in which Mahendra Karma, minister and other INC leaders were killed,” Reddy said.
In 2024, due to heavy police suppression in South Bastar, the CPI (Maoist) state secretary Devji, Hidma, Chandranna, Damoder and all other top leaders moved to Karreguttalu hills (KGH). Deva was deputed as in-charge of KGH for security and logistics supply.
“Deva, with his military expertise and strategies re-organized PLGA formations on KGH and saved the party leaders and cadre from major damage during the intense combing by thousands of security forces,” the DGP said, adding that he carries a reward of ₹75 lakh announced by the state and central governments.
Similarly, Kankanala Raji Reddy alias Venkatesh (50) from Kishtampet village of Peddapalli district of Telangana, joined CPI (ML) People’s War in April 1997 and was promoted to district committee member in 2010 and state committee member in 2019.
“He built the best courier network and activated front organizations in erstwhile Karimnagar and Warangal districts. He played a key role in establishing a guerrilla base on Karreguttalu. He provided logistic support and made all arrangements for strengthening the guerrilla base,” the DGP said.
After Raji Reddy’s surrender, the Telangana state committee of the Maoist party has been left with only its secretary Bade Chokka Rao alias Damodar and nobody else is left in the committee.
The DGP said at present, only 17 members from Telangana were left with the CPI (Maoist). Of them, only one state committee member and four area committee members are currently active. “Interestingly, out of the seven central committee members left in the party, four are from Telangana, which shows Telangana leaders are still an important part of the Maoist party organisation,” he added.
Curated by Dr. Elena Rodriguez
