Hyderabad, Jun 6 (IANS): A Maoist leader, who had tested positive for Covid-19 and was arrested last week in Warangal while going to a hospital for treatment, succumbed at a government-run hospital in Hyderabad on Sunday.

According to family members of Gaddam Madhukar, he died at the Osmania General Hospital.

Dandakaranya Special Zone Divisional Committee (DKSZCM) Secretary, Gaddam Madhukar alias Mohan alias Shobroy, was arrested on June 1 in Warangal when he was coming to Hanamkonda town for Covid treatment.

According to police, Madhukar was hiding in the car being driven by a Maoist courier.

Warangal's Commissioner of Police, Tarun Joshi had told reporters on June 2 that Madhukar and a courier were arrested during a vehicle-check near Mulugu crossroads.

Madhukar, who hails from Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district, had joined the Sirpur dalam of the then People's War Group (PGW) in 1999.

The outfit, which subsequently became CPI-Maoist, shifted him to the Dandakaranya Special Zone Committee and since then, he was involved in several offences including killing of police personnel and snatching their weapons.

Madhukar had told police that about a dozen top leaders of the banned outfit are suffering from Covid-19.

The Maoist leaders who are infected with Covid include two Central Committee members -- Katakam Sudharshan alias Aanand, and Tippari Thirupathi alias Devuj.

Some of the Maoist leaders hiding in the forests in Chhattisgarh near the Telangana border are believed to have succumbed to the virus. This confirmed the suspicion of the police that Covid is ravaging the Maoist cadre.