Most-wanted Maoist Ganapathy may surrender soon: Police

MUppala Lakshmana Rao assumed name Ganapathy, the most-wanted leader of the commie company of republic of india (Maoist), is potential to surrender before the Telangana Police in a few days, officers aware of the matter said on Thursday.According to a senior police officer, Ganapathy, 77, who had been suffering from serious health issues and hiding in Nepal for the last two years, was brought to New Delhi a few days ago and kept under the protection of the special intelligence branch (SIB) police authorities.On Wednesday, Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy, along with the DGP, intelligence additional DGP and SIB chief, met Union home minister Amit Shah and briefed him about the recent surrender of top Maoist leaders from Telangana and Chhattisgarh, including Thippiri Tirupati alias Devji and Malla Rajireddy alias Sangram.According to an official statement, CM Reddy told Shah that 591 Maoists had surrendered in the last one year. The CM also brought to the notice of the home minister the possible surrender of Ganapathy in a few days.On February 25, Ganapathy’s younger brother Ramchandra Rao appealed to him through the media to surrender before the authorities. He told the reporters that the family and villagers were eagerly waiting for Ganapathy to return home. According to him, many of the leaders who had worked alongside Ganapathy had already surrendered. He also noted that Ganapathy faces cases in as many as 12 states.Rao urged state governments to withdraw the cases against his brother if he formally surrenders and rejoins mainstream society.There are 26 days left for the Centre’s proposed deadline of March 31, 2026 to end Left Wing Extremism in the country.On February 25, Ganapathy’s younger brother Ramchandra Rao appealed to him through the media to surrender before the authorities. He told the reporters that the family and villagers were eagerly waiting for Ganapathy to return home. Rao urged state governments to withdraw the cases against his brother if he formally surrenders and rejoins mainstream society.According to the police records, Ganapathy was born on June 16, 1949, in Beerpur village of Telangana’s Jagitial district, which was then part of the undivided Karimnagar district. After completing his graduation in Karimnagar, he joined as a government teacher in government schools at Medipalli and Eligedu.During 1972–73, he went to Warangal for training in Bachelor of Education course, where he was influenced by the then Naxalite movement. In 1976, police registered a case against him in connection with the killing of a landlord named Pitambara Rao in Tabalapur.In 1978, he led the historic Jagitial peasant movement that subsequently led to the formation of CPI (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War in 1980 in association with Kondapalli Seetharamaiah.Ganapathy played a pivotal role in expanding the Naxalite movement beyond the Telugu-speaking states. His rise within the organisation came after a falling out with Seetaramaiah, the then general secretary of the party, who was expelled in 1991. Ganapathy was subsequently elevated to the post of general secretary, a position he would hold for nearly three decades.