Key Maoist Leader Barse Deva Surrenders Before Telangana DGP
Key Leader of CPI (Maoist) Battalion No. 1 Gives Up Arms
Raipur:: Barsa Deva, the ‘last’ surviving top tribal Maoist of Chhattisgarh after slain Central Committee Member (CCM) Hidma, on Saturday surrendered in Hyderabad along with 20 of his associates, dealing a ‘death blow’ to the three-decade-old Naxal movement in Bastar in the state.
Deva, considered the last hope of survival of Leftwing extremism in Bastar after killing of Hidma in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh recently, headed People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA)’s Battalion number one as ruthlessly as his mentor and predecessor Hidma for the past two years.
The PLGA’s Battalion number one was considered the most formidable military unit of Maoists safeguarding the Naxal stronghold of south Bastar for the past two decades.
The red’s Battalion number one which had once a strength of around 3,000 has now been reduced to a barely small army of around 150 guerrillas.
“With Barsa Deva’s surrender, the Maoists’ Battalion one of the Maoists has collapsed. Almost all the sophisticated weapons of the military unit were returned to the police during his submission before the police”, a senior police officer said.
Total 48 weapons comprising two Light Machine Guns (LMGs), one US-made Colt rifle, one Israel-made Tavor rifle, eight AK-47 rifles, ten INSAS rifles, eight Self-Loaded Rifles (SLRs), four Barrel Grenade Launchers (BGLs), eleven single-shot weapons, and one air gun were returned to the police during their surrender.
“The Battalion number one of Maoists now literally ceased to exist. The development is billed to pave the way for a Naxal-free Bastar, target for which has been set for March end this year”, the police officer said.
Besides, Deva was the last ‘credible face’ of Maoist leaders among the tribal Naxal cadres in Bastar after Hidma.
"Barse Deva's surrender is a significant development", Bastar inspector general of police P Sunderraj told this newspaper.
Deva (49) hailed from Puvarthi village which produced many hardcore Maoists including Hidma, in Sukma district under south Bastar in Chhattisgarh.
He joined the Maoist cadre in 2000 and rose fast in the Naxal rank with tutelage of his mentor Hidma to become Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) member in December 2022 and commander-in-chief of PLGA’s Battalion number in June 2023.
He had expertise on making weapons, BGLs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), besides being a ruthless military strategist and was fluent in regional languages of Oriya, Telugu, and Marathi, besides the tribal dialects of Koya and Gondi.
He carried the US-made Colt rifle with him.
Deva had led several deadly attacks on security forces in Bastar.
He was allegedly involved in the massacre of 28 Congress leaders of Chhattisgarh in the attack on their convoy at Jheeram Ghati in Bastar in 2013 and Tekulagudem attack on security forces in Bijapur district in Bastar in 2021 in which 22 security personnel were killed.