Top Maoist leader Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathi, said to be in his seventies, is likely to surrender. A number of news reports have reported this quoting various police sources. Ganapathi was at the helm of the banned outfit for over two decades till he stepped down from the top position last year, but continued as a senior leader of the organisaiton. He carries a reward of Rs 1.5 crore on his head.
News18 quoted sources in both Telengana and Chhattisgarh to say that the former CPI-Maoist chief has already left Chhattisgarh from where he was operating for decades, and is expected to surrender soon. Abujhmaad, the filly forested area of Chhattisgarh where the Maoists’ base is said to be located, is where Ganapathi is said to have operated from. According to various reports, he has left the area around August 28-29 for Telengana, where he is expected to surrender.
This itself indicates that the date of leaving Abujhmaad is likely to have been much earlier. Ganapathi hails from Telengana and is said to have himself approached the police for surrender. According to some news reports, Ganapathi had offered to surrender through some Telengana Rashtra Samithi leaders close to chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Last year, Namballa Kesava Rao alias Basawraj (63) took over from Ganapathi as the top leader of the organisation. This took place apparently due to Ganapathi’s failing health and some leadership issues. He however, had been continuing as a central committee member of the organisation. Ganapathi has been the top leader of the organisation and played a key role in the merging of the CPI-ML-PWG and the MCC in 2004 to form the CPI-Maoist. The CPI-Maoist leadership however, has not made any statement on this.
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