Amaravati: A top leader of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), who was involved in many criminal cases and carried a Rs 20 lakh reward on his head, surrendered before police on Tuesday due to “disillusionment with the obsolete Maoist ideology”, Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police D G Sawang said.
Addressing a press conference, the DGP said Muttanagari Jalandar Reddy, who went by many aliases like Maranna, Krishna, Karuna and Sarath, hailed from Siddipet in neighbouring Telangana.
He was a member of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee and a division secretary.
He led the second assault team (of Maoists) in the Balimela ambush on June 29, 2008 in which 38 commandos of the elite Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh Police were killed.
“He was also involved in five other important ambushes,19 exchanges of fire against security forces and seven murders in the AOB area.
He also played the lead role in the kidnapping of IAS officer Vineel Krishna, the then Collector of Malkangiri district (of Odisha) in February 2011,” the DGP said.
Krishna actively participated in raids on District Armoury at Koraput (2004), Srisailam and Sunnipenta police stations in Kurnool district,Yerragondapalem police station in Prakasam district and several other offences in the AOB area, the DGP added.
Attracted by the Naxal ideology,Krishna joined the Radical Students Union in 1998 while pursuing Intermediate and rose in ranks in the erstwhile CPI-ML (Peoples War) and later the CPI (Maoist).
Sawang said Krishna also headed the protection squad of the top Maoist leader Akkiraju Haragopal, alias Ramakrishna.
The DGP claimed that Krishna gave himself up to the police as he was “disillusioned with the obsolete Maoist ideology, lack of local public support and lack of recruitment from local adivasis.”
The extensive police out-reach programmes and government welfare and development programmes in interior tribal areas, distancing tribals from the Maoists and attractive surrender and rehabilitation policy of the state government were the other factors for the Maoist leaders surrender, Sawang added.
As per the government policy, Krishna would be given the reward amount of Rs 20 lakh, besides a house site.
“If required,agricultural land or support for taking up self-employment will be provided to Jalandhar Reddy,” he said.
The DGP said there were eight instances of exchange of fire between police forces and Maoists in the state since 2019, in which eight outlaws, including a District Committee member, were killed and six, including a Special Zonal Committee member, were arrested.
Another 31 Maoists surrendered to the police.
Sawang appealed to the Maoists to give themselves up voluntarily and join the mainstream.
“Under the surrender and rehabilitation policy, we will facilitate their mainstreaming by giving the reward amount on their head and provide employment opportunities, the DGP assured.