Hyderabad: Forty-seven Maoists of Dadakaranya Special Zone Committee (DKSZC), including divisional committee member and in charge of South Bastar divisional committee (DVC) Hemla Iythu alias Vijja, have surrendered before Telangana police, director-general of police B Shivadhar Reddy said at a press briefing on Saturday.Police said the surrender of senior leaders of the CPI (Maoist) South Bastar DVC of DKSZC dealt a significant blow to the outfit’s South Bastar network. Among others who laid down arms was Podium Lachu alias Manoj, a divisional committee member and commander of the 9th platoon. The DGP said the group had surrendered along with 32 firearms and 515 rounds of ammunition. The weapons included an LMG, four AK-47 rifles, three SLRs, two INSAS rifles, two .410 muskets, an 8 mm rifle, 12 single-shot guns, a 9 mm pistol, a revolver, two BGL guns, two air guns, an SBBL gun and 10 bundles of cordtex wires.24 Area Committee MembersThe surrendered cadre belonged to different ranks, including a state committee member, three divisional committee members, 24 area committee members (ACMs/PPCMs) and 19 party members.The surrender was attributed to sustained pressure by security forces and the Telangana govt’s surrender and rehabilitation policy. As part of the package, each cadre was provided immediate financial assistance of 25,000, with additional incentives to be disbursed after verification. The total reward amount linked to the surrendered Maoists was estimated at 1.5 crore. Officials said all cadre would be extended healthcare and rehabilitation support to facilitate reintegration.Data shared by police showed that 260 Maoists surrendered in Telangana so far this year, taking the total to 818 between 2024 and 2026. In 2026 alone, 238 firearms were recovered, the highest in the past two years.With this surrender, police said there were currently four underground cadre from Telangana, operating in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
