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Senior Maoist leader Samatha surrenders before Telangana DGP, receives reward
A 60-year-old senior Communist Party of India (Maoist) member who served in the Andhra Pradesh state committee of the banned outfit surrendered to Telangana director general of police (DGP) CV Anand late on Monday, said police
A 60-year-old senior Communist Party of India (Maoist) member who served in the Andhra Pradesh state committee of the banned outfit surrendered to Telangana director general of police (DGP) CV Anand late on Monday, said police.
The former Maoist leader was identified as Samatha, wife of senior Maoist leader and CC member Patel Sudhakar Reddy alias Suryam, who led the party’s Central Military Commission before police shot him dead on May 24, 2009. Samatha carried a reward of ₹20 lakh on her head and the DGP said the amount would be handed over to her. “As an immediate relief, she has been given ₹25,000. She will also get other financial benefits as per the norms,” Anand said.
Samatha and her elder sister Kakarala Sunitha were both active in the movement. Sunitha served as a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and gave up arms on August 21, 2025. Their father is Telugu film industry veteran Kakarala Satyanaraya, whose filmography spans over 300 films. The family hailed from Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh.
Samatha’s career as a Maoist began in 1984 when she joined the Radical Students Union (RSU), a student wing of the CPI (ML) People’s War and subsequently became a full-time member of the party. Between 2009 and 2015, she served in the core team of then- party general secretary Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy.
She later moved to the party’s Southern Regional Bureau and was entrusted with the responsibility of women’s issues and intelligence propaganda in the urban areas. “With the Maoist movement getting wiped out completely, she decided to surrender before the police,” the DGP said.
The DGP said at present, only three Maoist leaders from Telangana were still underground, including Ganapathy, Jade Ratna Bai alias Sujatha and Vartha Sekhar alias Mangthu. “We appeal to them to surrender to the police at the earliest and join the mainstream,” he added.
