Maoist couple surrenders in Vijayawada; major arms cache recovered

Vijaywada/Raipur, July 26 (IANS) In a significant development in India’s on-going counter-insurgency efforts, a senior Maoist couple active in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region surrendered before Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta in Vijayawada on Saturday.

The surrender marks a major symbolic and operational gain for security forces battling Left-Wing Extremism across the Red Corridor. The surrendered cadres have been identified as Jorige Nagaraju a.k.a. Kamlesh and his wife Medaka Jyotiswari alias Aruna. Nagaraju, a native of Poranki village in Krishna district, had served in the banned CPI (Maoist) for over 34 years.

He held the post of Special Zonal Committee Member (SZCM) in the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and was in charge of the East Bastar Divisional Committee.

His wife Aruna, originally from Kappaladoddi village, had been active in the movement for three decades and served as a Divisional Committee Member (DVCM).

Authorities had declared a reward of Rs 25 lakh on Nagaraju in Chhattisgarh and ₹20 lakh in Andhra Pradesh, while Aruna carried a bounty of Rs 5 lakh.

The couple cited ideological disillusionment, lack of public support, and internal discontent within the Maoist ranks as reasons for their decision to surrender.

They were provided Rs 20,000 each as immediate relief under the state's rehabilitation policy. While addressing the media, DGP Gupta said that the surrender was part of a broader trend of Maoist cadres abandoning armed struggle in favor of reintegration.

He emphasised the importance of such surrenders in weakening the insurgency’s leadership structure.

Meanwhile, in a parallel operation, Andhra Pradesh police unearthed three Maoist arms dumps in the forests of Alluri Sitaramaraju (ASR) district between July 23 and 25.

Acting on specific intelligence, teams recovered a cache of 18 weapons, including one AK-47, two BGLs, five SLRs, two INSAS rifles, and five .303 rifles.

The haul also included 606 live rounds, 16 BGL shells, 37 kg of Cardex wire, detonators, walkie-talkies, and other tactical equipment. Senior officials from the law and order, intelligence, and operations wings participated in the press briefing, underscoring the coordinated nature of the anti-Maoist campaign.

The twin developments signal a tightening security grip across Maoist-affected zones in central and eastern India.

--IANS

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