Daijiworld Media Network - Vijayawada/Raipur

Vijayawada/Raipur, Jul 26: In a notable breakthrough in India’s ongoing offensive against Left-Wing Extremism, a senior Maoist couple with decades of operational experience surrendered before Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police Harish Kumar Gupta in Vijayawada on Saturday.

The two individuals, Jorige Nagaraju alias Kamlesh, and his wife Medaka Jyotiswari alias Aruna, were long-time members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist). Their surrender is being hailed as a symbolic and strategic blow to the Maoist leadership operating across the Dandakaranya region, particularly in Chhattisgarh's Bastar division.

Nagaraju, originally from Poranki in Krishna district, had been with the movement for over 34 years, most recently serving as a Special Zonal Committee Member (SZCM) in the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, overseeing the East Bastar Division. Aruna, hailing from Kappaladoddi village, had a similar background with three decades of involvement, functioning as a Divisional Committee Member (DVCM).

Authorities had placed a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on Nagaraju in Chhattisgarh and Rs 20 lakh in Andhra Pradesh, while Aruna carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh. The couple cited ideological fatigue, internal rifts, and waning public support as reasons for turning themselves in.

The duo received Rs 20,000 each in immediate aid as part of Andhra Pradesh’s Maoist rehabilitation policy. DGP Harish Kumar Gupta emphasized that such high-profile surrenders erode the leadership structure of the insurgency and reflect a larger shift toward disillusionment within Maoist ranks.

In a separate but connected development, Andhra Pradesh police uncovered three hidden Maoist arms dumps in the forests of Alluri Sitaramaraju (ASR)
district between July 23 and 25. Acting on intelligence inputs, search teams recovered a significant cache of arms and equipment:

• One AK-47,
• Two BGLs (grenade launchers),
• Five SLRs,
• Two INSAS rifles,
• Five .303 rifles,
• 606 live rounds,
• 16 BGL shells,
• 37 kg of Cardex wire,
• Detonators, walkie-talkies, and
• Other tactical gear.

Senior officials from intelligence, law and order, and operational divisions participated in a joint media briefing, underlining the multi-agency coordination behind recent successes.

Together, these developments point to tightening security control over Maoist-affected corridors in central and eastern India and a growing trend of top insurgent operatives choosing surrender over continued armed resistance.