Senior Maoist Leader Surrenders Before DGP
Sixty-year-old Sujathakka is the central committee member and in charge of the South Sub-Zonal Bureau of Bastar region of Chhattisgarh
Hyderabad: Claiming health complications, 62-year-old Maoist central committee member Pothula Padmavathi alias Sujatakka, wife of the late Maoist leader Mallojula Koteshwar Rao alias Kishanji, surrendered before the Telangana police on Saturday after spending 43 years underground.
Director General of Police (DGP) Jitender handed her a `25 lakh demand draft, equivalent to the bounty on her head.
Padmavathi, a native of Penchikalpadu village in Gattu mandal of Jogulamba Gadwal district, held key positions in the outlawed CPI (Maoist). She served as a central committee member (CCM), secretariat member, south sub-zonal bureau secretary and in-charge of Janathana Sarkar — also called Revolutionary People’s Committees — under the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC).
DGP Jitender described her surrender as a “moral victory” for the Telangana police’s comprehensive policy to counter Maoist activities. “Her decision reflects the need to prioritise her well-being after decades of underground life. She has expressed her wish to live peacefully with her family and access rehabilitation benefits,” he said.
He said that in May, due to deteriorating health, Sujatakka expressed her desire to leave the organisation. Through fellow CCM Pulluri Prasada Rao alias Chandranna, she conveyed her request to the central committee, seeking to rejoin the mainstream with government support,” the DGP said.
Under the state government’s policy, Sujatakka will also be entitled to additional rehabilitation benefits.
Padmavathi was married to Kishanji, a senior Maoist leader who was a central committee member and secretary of the CPI (Maoist) West Bengal state committee. He was killed in an exchange of fire with security forces near the Bengal-Jharkhand border in West Midnapore district, West Bengal, on November 24, 2011. The couple had one daughter.
