Shilore Narayana Rao, also known as Suresh, central committee member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and secretary of Andhra-Odisha Special Frontier Areas Committee, surrendered to the Andhra Pradesh police on Monday, along with eight other leaders from Chhattisgarh, Odisha and the rebel People’s Liberation Army (PLA), officers said.
The group laid down their arms in front of Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta and other senior officials in Mangalagiri.
Narayana Rao’s surrender came a day before the deadline set by the Center to end the Maoist movement in India (March 31).
Gupta told reporters that the police seized a cache of 19 weapons based on information from the surrendered Maoist leader and his cadres. The stolen items included one INSAS rifle, two BGL rifles, five .303 rifles, five SBBL rifles and six other weapons, as well as cords and Cordex equipment.
Director General of Police Narayana Rao said, who carried $25 lakh reward. She hails from Pedavanka village in Vajrappu Kothuru block, Srikakulam district. He joined as a member of the former CPI (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War Squad in November 1990 and has remained underground ever since.
“In the past 36 years, he has risen through the ranks and served in various positions including special guerrilla commander, member of the State Military Committee and then as secretary, before being promoted to the Central Committee and becoming secretary of AOBSZC,” the Director General of Police said.
Narayana Rao was involved in the killings of former MLAs Kidari Sarveswara Rao and Siveri Someswara Rao in 2018. He has also been linked to ambushes and attacks on police in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
Speaking to reporters, Narayana Rao said that he surrendered due to the decline of the Maoist movement due to the killing of senior leaders, arrests and surrender of senior cadres. “The movement lacks local popular support and there have been no new recruitments into the party. People are gravitating towards social welfare and development activities in the interior tribal areas,” he said.
“Seven shootouts took place, in which 18 Maoists, including three central committee members — Madhvi Hidma, Gajarla Ravi alias Uday, and Mituri Gujarao alias TK Shankar — were killed. Overall, a total of 120 weapons were recovered last year,” the DG said, adding that Maoist activity in the state has reached zero.
