Top Maoist Ashanna likely to surrender

Hyderabad:Another blow to the banned Maoist party; One of the party’s senior leaders, Takkalapalli Vasudeva Rao alias Ashanna, the mastermind behind several deadly attacks on political officials and police officers, is likely to surrender before the police. Ashanna, a central committee (CC) member of the outlawed outfit, is accused of masterminding the Alipiri attack targeting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in 2003 and the murder of former minister A. Madhava Reddy and IPS officer KS Umesh Chandra.

Sources said Ashanna has been in police custody for the past few days and is expected to formally surrender soon. His wife Narla Sri Vidya was arrested by Telangana police a few months ago. A native of Polonipalli in Mulugu district, Ashanna studied up to ITI and joined the People’s War Group in 1991 and served in the Hyderabad action team. Over time, he rose through the ranks to become a member of the CC and was believed to be operating in the forests of Ambujghad in Chhattisgarh.

He was allegedly involved in the shooting of IPS officer Umesh Chandra in Punjagutta in 1999, and a year later he carried out the mine attack that killed the then minister A. Madhava Reddy. He also played an important role in the Alipiri blast targeting Chandrababu Naidu.

Meanwhile, in another blow to the Maoist organisation, senior leader Mallojula Venugopal, technical head Irre Mohan Reddy, his wife and around 60 others surrendered before Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently. Venugopal also issued a public appeal urging Maoist cadres to stay away from violence and join the mainstream.

The Maharashtra government distributed checks to surrendered Maoists as part of its rehabilitation programme. The recent capitulation of senior leaders and cadres has further weakened the Maoist movement in central India.