After 36 Years Of Underground Life, Top Maoist Commander Surrenders

Chelluri Narayana Rao, alias Suresh, the name behind several major Maoist attacks in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh has surrendered after living underground for nearly four decades. 

Rao was a Central Committee Member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and the secretary of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee. He had spent nearly 36 years in the Maoist movement and was one of its top leaders. Rao and and eight other cadres, including platoon commanders, area committee members, and party members from Chhattisgarh and Odisha, surrendered before Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta in Vijayawada on Monday.

Rao was involved in the 2018 killing of former MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao and former MLA Siveri Someswara Rao. He was also linked to several ambushes and attacks on police forces.

According to the Andhra Pradesh government's surrender and rehabilitation policy, Rao will receive Rs 25 lakh. Other cadres will receive rewards ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. The DGP handed over an immediate relief amount of Rs 20,000 each to all nine surrendered members.

Police have recovered 19 weapons, including one Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) rifle, two Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL) weapons, five .303 rifles, five Single Barrel Breech Loading (SBBL) guns, and six single-shot rifles from the Maoists. Explosives, ammunition, and communication equipment were also seized.

DGP Harish Kumar Gupta said eight Maoist cadres, including three top Central Committee Members, have been killed in seven encounters. Police also arrested 81 cadres and secured the surrender of 106 others. He also confirmed that underground Maoist activity in Andhra Pradesh has now been reduced to zero.

Chelluri Narayana Rao's 36 Years As CPI (Maoist) Member

It all began in November 1990 when Rao was attracted to revolutionary ideology and he joined the People's War Group (PWG), a banned Naxalite-Maoist communist political party in Konda Baridi Dalam, Srikakulam.

In 1994, Rao was promoted to area committee member and worked in the Konda Baridi, Chandanagiri, and Uddanam areas. In 2000, he took over as a divisional committee member and worked as a commander of special guerrilla squads.

Later, in September 2003, Rao was promoted to the State Zonal Committee Member and transferred to the State Military Commission (SMC) as a member.

In May 2009, when the party formed the third Central Regional Committee (CRC), Rao worked as its commander.

In 2016, he became the in-charge of the State Military Commission (SMC), of the Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) and continued in that role till September 2024, when he became the secretary of the AOBSZC.