HYDERABAD: Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram, a Central Committee Member (CCM) and Politburo Member (PBM) of CPI (Maoist), has surrendered before the Telangana police along with 50 Maoist cadres, including middle-level and top-level leaders, in a development that officials describe as a major setback to the party’s presence in the state. Raji Reddy, also known by several aliases including Sathenna, Sayanna, Meesalanna, Sagar, Alok, Deshpande, SN, Laxman, Sanghram and Murali, is presently listed as CCM, PBM and ORSC in the CPI (Maoist) formation. He joined the CPI (Maoist) in 1975 and has been holding key positions in the organisation. Another Central Committee leader, Devji alias Tripari Tirupathi, also surrendered to the police. An official announcement of the surrenders is likely to be made by the Telangana police, possibly in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy or DGP Shivadhar Reddy, depending on availability, on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Profile of Raji Reddy
According to police records, Malla Raji Reddy, aged 76, is the son of Veera Reddy. He hails from Shatharajpalli village, Mutharam mandal, Peddapalli district, Telangana. He studied Intermediate at Government Junior College, Manthani, in Peddapalli district. He is married. His first wife, Rathnamma alias Rajakka alias Nirmala, died in an encounter in 1998. His second wife is Bicha alias Suguna of Mandri, Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh. His mother is Rajamma. He has a daughter, Snehalatha alias Sneha (B.Sc., LL.B), who is married to Prof. C. Kasim and resides in Hyderabad. His brother, Malla Bheem Reddy, works in Singareni at Godavarikhani. Raji Reddy is described as 5.6 feet in height, of medium build and medium complexion.
Movement from Chhattisgarh
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 the region. The Centre has been pushing for a March deadline, while combing operations intensified from the Chhattisgarh side towards Telangana, particularly in the Karreguttalu belt. In this backdrop, the surrenders have gained significance. However, sources also said that some of the Maoist leaders and cadres now shown as having surrendered were actually arrested by Telangana police and later persuaded to surrender formally.
Weapons seized
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 cadres, including AK-47s and INSAS rifles. Around 12 AK-47 rifles were found with the cadres who surrendered. With the surrender of Raji Reddy alias Sangram and Devji alias Tripari Tirupathi along with 50 cadres, Telangana police described it as a major development in ongoing operations against the Maoist organisation in the region.
