"Top-level leadership of Maoists has become zero": IG Bastar P Sundarraj

He further stated that after the latest development, only a few Maoist cadres remain active.

"CPI Maoist member Devuji, Central Committee Member Murali, alias Sangra, Telangana State Committee Secretary Damodar, and Ganganna have surrendered today. The number of CPI Maoists in Telangana is decreasing; the number of other cadres is also decreasing... After today's event, the top-level leadership of the Maoists has become zero, and they have only a few remaining Maoist cadres... So, taking the right decision at the right time, and joining the community, will be better for them to follow...," he said.

Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) B Shivadhar Reddy on Tuesday said the Maoist movement in the state is "almost at the end of its run" with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) currently running "headless, rudderless, leaderless."

"Now nobody is leading the Maoist party. It is almost in tatters. The expectation was that Devuji would become the general secretary, but after talking to these people who have come out now, it shows that the Central Committee Meeting could not be held because of the huge repressions. So, they are saying that since no Central Committee Meeting was held, nobody could be chosen as the general secretary. So, as of today, the party is headless, rudderless, leaderless," he said, adding that the Maoists are merely moving across regions to evade police combing operations.

"There is no regrouping as such to the best of my knowledge; they may be moving from one part to the other to escape the Police's combing operations," he added.

The remarks come in the wake of a major breakthrough under Operation Kagar, with senior Maoist leader Thippiri Tirupathi, alias Devuji, surrendering to the Telangana State Intelligence Bureau along with 16 other Maoists, including Central Committee member Rajireddy, as per the sources.

Operation Kagar-2, an intensified anti-Naxal campaign by the Centre, had specifically targeted these leaders, with a March 31 deadline set to eradicate Naxalism nationwide.

The surrender marked a significant success for security agencies in their intensified anti-Naxal campaign. Sustained pressure from security forces is believed to have played a crucial role in prompting the senior leadership of the CPI (Maoist) to surrender. (ANI)