Major blow to Maoists as senior leader leaves party, 3 others surrender
A senior Maoist leader has left the insurgent ranks allegedly due to differences with the non-tribal leaders in the outfit who were ordering the killing of innocent tribal villagers after falsely declaring them to be police informers, said police officials
A senior Maoist leader has left the insurgent ranks allegedly due to differences with the non-tribal leaders in the outfit who were ordering the killing of innocent tribal villagers after falsely declaring them to be police informers, said police officials.

In another related incident, three other Maoists from Odisha, who were involved in several encounters with the police, surrendered, dealing a double blow to the rebels.
Senior police officials in Odisha said Sudheer alias Chikudu Chinna Rao, who was a divisional committee member and commander of Pedabayalu and Korukonda area committee of Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of Maoists, walked out due to sharp differences with non-tribals such as Gajarla Ravi, secretary of the above-mentioned committee, Aruna, Mahendra and Suresh. Sudheer himself is a tribal leader and a native of Pedabayalu Mandal in Andhra Pradesh, the officials said.
The officials said that Sudheer has been questioning the non-tribal leaders over the killing of innocent tribals after branding them as police informers and accusing them of taking undue advantage of tribals’ simplicity.
However, Aruna, secretary of Visakhapatnam East Division, claimed in a press release that Sudheer had been expelled from the party as he eloped with a girl named Mahita, deserting his wife and children.
In other development, Talse Huika alias Talso, area committee member of Boipariguda area committee under Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee; Rame Podiami alias Sabita, commander of Maoists’ Palachalam local operational squad of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), and Raidhar Dhurua alias Raidhar, party member of the ultras’ Mahupadar local operational squad under DKSZC surrendered before Odisha police chief Abhay at Malkangiri on Sunday morning.
Huika who hails from Narayanpatna block of Koraput district, joined the CPI (Maoist) organisation at the age of 13 in 2012 when she was inducted into the Jana Natya Mandali, the cultural troupe of Maoists in gross of child rights and depriving her of receiving formal education.
Huika worked as a party member in 3rd CRC and protection team of central committee member Ramakrishna. She was promoted to area committee member in 2015 and worked in Pedabailu Area Committee till May 2021. Later, she was transferred to Boipariguda Area Committee and continued there till her surrender. She was involved in several cases of violence involving Maoists.
Podiami had a reward of ₹2 lakh on her head and she had participated in many attacks on security forces in Sukma district.
Similarly, Raidhar Dhurua alias Raidhar was given formal training of arms and IEDs by the Maoists and she conducted meetings to motivate villagers to join their frontal organisations and the militias.
DGP Abhay said that in the last two years more than 20 active Maoist cadres and hundreds of active militias/Maoist sympathizers have surrendered in Malkangiri district. He said Maoist cadres willing to join the mainstream could take advantage of Odisha’s surrender and rehabilitation policy for the rebels.
ABOUT THE AUTHORDebabrata MohantyDebabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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