- Devji surrendered with 20 cadres, including senior member Malla Raji Reddy in Mulugu district
- He was a key military strategist linked to attacks killing over 250 security forces and civilians
- Devji’s surrender leaves only one active politburo member and five Central Committee members
Thippiri Tirupathi, widely known as Devji, the highest-ranking leader of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), has surrendered before the Telangana Police.
The development is seen as one of the biggest defections in the Red Movement's history in the country. It comes just days before the Union Home Minister Amit Shah's March 31 deadline to end Left Wing extremism nationwide.
Devji, 62, laid down arms in Mulugu district alongside at least 20 other cadres, including senior Central Committee member Malla Raji Reddy (Sangram).
After his and other commanders' debriefings and the formal documentation of the surrender were completed, he was brought to Hyderabad, where he will be presented to the media by Telangana's Director General of Police Dr B Shivadhar Reddy in his office.
Devji has been one of the most feared strategists within the Maoist ranks, serving as head of the Central Military Commission and playing a key role in military planning and guerrilla operations for decades.
Security agencies have linked him to several high-profile ambushes and attacks that resulted in the deaths of over 250 security personnel and several civilians across Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
"No leader of this rank has ever surrendered in the history of the organisation," a top officer of Telangana police said, highlighting the strategic impact of the surrender.
After Devji's exit, the CPI (Maoist) politburo which is the rebels highest decision-making body now has only one active member (Misir Besra), and the Central Committee (CC) the next tier below the politburo that guides broader organisational work also dramatically declined, now believed to have only about five active members from nearly 50 in earlier years.
Families in Devji's hometown of Korutla in Jagtial district of Telangana celebrated the news, saying they had long hoped to be reunited with him after nearly four decades underground.
Telangana police are expected to provide further details later today at the press conference later today.
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