Telangana: Sustained Consolidation in Fight Against Maoism
PTI File Photo
(Deepak Kumar Nayak)
On January 2, 2026, registering the first surrender of the year, senior Communist Party of India–Maoist (CPI-Maoist) military ‘commander’ Barse Deva aka Badse Sukka aka Sainath (45), in charge of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Battalion Number 1 and a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), surrendered before Telangana Director General of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy in Hyderabad, along with 19 other Maoists. Deva, a native of Puvarthi village in the Sukma District of Chhattisgarh, joined the movement in 2004 under the influence of Jaggu Dadu, a Jegurugonda Local Organisation Squad (LOS) ‘commander’. Following the death of Madvi Hidma, a ‘Central Committee Member (CCM)’ and ‘commander’ of PLGA Battalion No. 1, in an encounter with the Andhra Pradesh Police on November 18, 2025, Deva rose to become the ‘commander’ of this most important battalion.
He was involved in multiple cases in Chhattisgarh, including exchanges of fire, ambushes, and attacks on Police
forces. Deva surrendered along with weapons and INR 2 million in cash, to the Telangana Police. He carries
a reward of INR 5 million.
According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 20 Maoists have already surrendered in Telangana in the current year (data till January 4, 2026). 486 Maoists had surrendered in the state in 2025, in addition to 30 surrenders in 2024. Nine had surrendered in 2023. In total, 816 Maoists have surrendered since June 2, 2014, when the state was formed. Key surrender events in 2025 included the laying down of arms by large groups of cadres, including midand high-ranking members from neighbouring Chhattisgarh in Bhadradri Kothagudem, illustrated both the intra-state and cross-border impact of Telangana’s surrender policy. According to an April 21, 2025, report, state intelligence authorities – who are aware of the new surrender policy in the neighbouring state – noted that the preference for surrendering in Telangana was also the result of the state’s consistent Maoist surrender policy. An unnamed senior Police officer privy to the developments noted:
“In 2024, 87 Maoist cadres had surrendered in Telangana, and most of them were from here. Things changed this year. Surrendered Maoists told us that they feared for their lives in Chhattisgarh. They prefer Telangana, where safety is ensured. Chhattisgarh now came up with the new surrender policy because they have the most severe Maoist
problem among all the states, and they want to address it. It is good if they get a good response. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Multi-Zone I, S. Chandrasekhar Reddy, observed further, “We treat the surrendered Maoists respectfully and provide proper rehabilitation. That’s one reason for the increase in surrenders.”
Moreover, on December 30, 2025, State Director General of Police (DGP) B. Shivadhar Reddy, releasing annual statistics, revealed that Maoist cadres from other states increasingly preferred Telangana as the destination for surrender. According to the annual data, as many as 509 underground CPI-Maoist cadres surrendered before the Telangana Police in 2025, indicating a sustained decline in the Left Wing Extremist (LWE) outfit. The surrendered cadres included two ‘Central Committee Members (CCMs)’, 11 ‘State Committee Members (SCMs)’, three ‘Divisional Committee Secretaries (DVCSs)’, 17 Divisional Committee/City and Peripheral Committee Members (DVCMs/CyPCMs), and 57 ‘Area Committee/People’s Party Committee Members (ACMs/PPCMs)’. Of the total, 483 cadres were from Chhattisgarh, 24 from Telangana, and one each from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Police assessments indicate that persistent pressure by Security Forces (SFs), disruption of logistics, internal dissent, forced redeployments, factionalism, ideological erosion and deteriorating living conditions have accelerated disillusionment within the CPI-Maoist, prompting increased surrenders in Telangana.
The Telangana Police and government officials have propagated the slogan ‘Poru Vaddu – Ooru Muddu’ [No more conflict, embrace the village (community/development)] to encourage CPI-Maoist cadres to surrender and join the mainstream, to promote peace and development instead of violence. The slogan encourages tribals to choose development through democratic government, over the violence promoted by the Maoists which, the government argues, has long prevented progress in their areas. Significantly, DGP Shivadhar Reddy asserted that the “Maoist movement is over,” pointing to the record surrender figures and attributing this to sustained anti-Maoist operations and the state’s rehabilitation efforts.
Meanwhile, no incident of arrest has been registered in the current year (data till January 4, 2026), while at least 45 Maoists were arrested through 2025, in addition to 48 arrested in 2024. 69 Maoists were arrested in 2023. A total of 581 Maoists has been arrested since June 2, 2014. Though no Maoist has been killed in the current year, at least 54 Maoists were killed in the state between June 2, 2014 and January 4, 2026, including 15 in 2024, two in 2023, three in 2022, four in 2021, 10 in 2020, two in 2019, one in 2018, 12 in 2017, two in 2016, two in 2015, and one in 2014. There were no Maoist fatalities in 2025.
Disturbingly, three SF fatality were recorded for the first time in 2025, despite SF dominance. There were
no fatalities in this category since the formation of the state. 15 civilians have, however, been killed in 13 incidents of killing by Maoists since June 2, 2014. Three civilians were killed in 2024, two civilians were killed in each of 2022, 2020, 2018, 2017, 2015, and 2014. No civilian fatality was recorded in 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2026 (till January 4, 2026). Geographically, Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)-linked fatalities in 2025 were reported from Mulugu District (three SFs). In 2024, 10 fatalities were recorded from Mulugu District (three civilians and seven Maoists) and another eight (Maoists) from the Bhadradri Kothagudem District. Since the formation of the state, of the total 72 LWE-linked fatalities, 36 were reported from Bhadradri Kothagudem District (five civilians and 31 Maoists), 23 from Mulugu District (five civilians, three SFs, and 15 Maoists), five from Khammam District (four civilians and one Maoist), two from Komaram Bheem Asifabad District (both Maoists), and two from Warangal Rural District (both Maoists). One fatality each was reported from Adilabad District (civilian),
Hyderabad District (Maoist), Nalgonda District (Maoist), and Warangal Urban District (Maoist). Telangana has a total of 31 districts.
Other parameters of violence registered a considerable decline in 2025 as compared to 2024, even though the influence and impact of the rebels continued to be felt in the State. The Maoists orchestrated two incidents of explosion in 2025, as compared to three such incidents in 2024, and issued one bandh (shut down strike) call in 2025, as against one such call in 2024. Overall Maoist-linked incidents increased to 47 in 2025 from 44 in 2024.
Meanwhile, underscoring their decreasing operational capacity within the state, the Maoists failed to carry out any incident of arson in 2025, as in 2024 and 2023. The last such incident was recorded in 2022. SFs foiled Maoist designs and recovered arms and ammunition on three occasions in 2025, in addition to 12 such recoveries in 2024. The total number of recoveries since June 2, 2014, stands at 148. In the current year, no incident of arms recovery has yet been recorded (data till January 4, 2026).
According to the SATP database, based on underground and over-ground activities of the Maoists in 2025, two Districts (Bhadradri Kothagudem and Mulugu) were categorised as marginally affected. By comparison, in 2024, two Districts (Bhadradri Kothagudem and Mulugu) were categorised as moderately affected; while five (Hanamkonda, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Khammam, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, and Siddipet), were marginally affected.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took action against Maoist activities in the State on three occasions. In the most recent incident, on December 21, 2025, NIA arrested a former CPI-Maoist cadre, Gade Innaiah aka Inna Reddy, from Jangaon District, for allegedly making a speech in support of the banned organisation. Reddy was taken into custody from Jangaon and shifted to the NIA office at Hyderabad. According to the written communication issued by NIA to his family members, the Agency stated that “investigation has revealed that the accused Innaiah, while addressing a gathering at the funeral of deceased ‘CCM’ Katha Ramachandra Reddy aka Vikalp, encouraged support for the CPI-Maoist, intended to further Maoist activities, incited the gathering to commit unlawful acts, and encouraged those present to continue the Maoist revolution.” CCM Ramachandra Reddy was killed in an encounter with SFs on September 22, 2025. Innaiah was arrested under Section 152 (acts endangering the sovereignty, unity, and
integrity of India) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and for violations of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). A former member of the People’s War Group (PWG), Innaiah, had surrendered in 1996. A staunch supporter of a separate Telangana, he was earlier associated with the Telangana Rashtra Party (TRP), a regional political party that worked for the creation of a separate Telangana state, and was running a shelter home in Jangaon, from where he was taken into custody amid tight security. While the Maoist challenge in Telangana has been substantially contained, the Telangana Police continue to face deficits in terms of capacities to confront the residual challenge, as well as to perform the general duties of policing in the State. According to the latest Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) data, as on January 1, 2024, Telangana had 161.39 Police personnel per 100,000 population, against the sanctioned strength of 225.39, a deficit of 28.39 per cent (the sanctioned strength for the States’ Police is 86,056, but 61,620 personnel were in position). The Police/Area Ratio (number of policemen per 100 square kilometers) is just 54.96, as against the national average of 65.78. Both the state and national averages on the Police/Area ratio are below the sanctioned strength, at 76.75 and 83.81, respectively. In addition, the sanctioned strength of the apex Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in the state is 139, but just 130 officers were in position, a deficit of 6.47 per cent.
These critical gaps reflect both human resource shortages and deployment challenges, and are compounded by the multifaceted demands of contemporary security threats, including cybercrime, urban unrest, and cross-border crime, which require diversified, technology-enabled police capabilities. Enhancement of specialized units (such as the anti-Naxal Greyhounds commandos) and procurement of modern arms are positive steps, but systemic recruitment, training, and retention impose structural imperatives.
Telangana’s counter-LWE strategy has delivered tangible results. The CPI-Maoist today lacks the mass base, leadership vitality, and operational depth required to engineer a meaningful resurgence in the state. The Maoists’ failure to reclaim their former heartland in Telangana is evident. To ensure lasting peace, the state must address structural policing deficits, sustain intelligence-led operations, and continue leveraging rehabilitation policies that sap the insurgency from within. Whether the present decline in Maoist influence and capacity becomes irreversible will depend on the state’s ability to consolidate security gains while strengthening institutional capacity and public welfare in the years ahead.
Author Deepak Kumar Nayak is Senior Fellow at Institute for Conflict Management.
(The views expressed in the above piece are personal and of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Bharat Fact views.)
