In what authorities are calling a devastating and potentially terminal setback for the outlawed CPI (Maoist) organization, one of its most senior and influential leaders, Badse Sukka alias Deva—who commanded the prestigious People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) battalion—voluntarily surrendered to Telangana police on Saturday, January 4, 2026, accompanied by 19 dedicated underground cadres, effectively dismantling a key pillar of the group's military structure in the region.

Telangana Director General of Police Shivadhar Reddy described the development as nothing short of the death knell for both the once-formidable PLGA battalion, which the Maoists long considered their "pride" and primary fighting force, and the party's entire Telangana State committee, particularly as this surrender follows closely on the heels of the recent elimination of top leader Hidma in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh, elevating Deva's capitulation to even greater strategic significance.

The group turned in a substantial and sophisticated arsenal of prohibited weapons that underscored the Maoists' lingering threat, including multiple AK-47 assault rifles, self-loading rifles (SLRs), advanced U.S.-manufactured Colt rifles, and a high-end Israeli-made Tavor close-quarter battle carbine, with officials confirming that many of these arms were originally looted from security forces during meticulously planned ambushes, daring raids on police stations, and assaults on paramilitary camps over the past several years.

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Reddy provided rare insights into the insurgents' operational capabilities by revealing the existence of a dedicated technical wing within the Maoist setup that specialized in indigenous manufacturing of weapons and grenade launchers, while noting that this surrender yielded—for the first time—specialized ammunition explicitly engineered to target and bring down helicopters, illustrating the group's continued efforts to develop asymmetric warfare tactics despite mounting pressure from security forces.

With intelligence assessments now indicating that only 17 Maoist cadres originally hailing from Telangana, including four members of the central committee, remain active outside the state's borders, the DGP expressed strong optimism that this high-profile mass surrender represents a pivotal and irreversible turning point, severely eroding the organization's remaining operational capacity, recruitment potential, and overall morale across its fragmented strongholds in central India.

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