Hyderabad, May 19: In a major blow to the Maoist party, a member of the party’s Orissa State Organising Committee (ORSOC) surrendered before the police here on Wednesday. The surrendered Maoist carries a reward of Rs 10 lakh and was involved in several attacks on police stations and killing of policemen in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The surrendered Maoist’s wife was also arrested by the Orissa police recently. The 41-year Maoist leader, Dunna Kesava Rao, surrendered before the director general of police K Aravinda Rao.
Kesava Rao is a native of Nallabodduluru village in Mandasa mandal of Srikakulam district. Kesava Rao was in the party since the past two decades and operated with the alias names of Azad, Maheshanna, Lenju, Anand, Babulu and Nikhil.
Hailing from fishermen community, Kesava Rao studied till SSC at Haripuram village in Mandasa mandal and joined the CPI-ML People’s War Group, presently known as CPI (Maoists) in 1990. He worked in the Uddanam area of Srikakulam under different capacities till 1997.
“Later, he worked as deputy commander of Yellavaram dalam of the POG and was promoted as the DCM of Basadhara divisional committee of Andhra-Orissa Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) and is presently working in Orissa State Organising Committee (ORSOC),” an official release said.
Kesava Rao held very senior positions as state committee member in the ORSOC and AOBSZC. “His surrender is a big blow to the AOBSZC and ORSOC of CPI (Maoist),” the DGP said.
“Kesava Rao was initially married to another Maoist Vanthala Yendamma alias Jyothakka of Tadikapalem in Visakhapatnam. Jyothakka surrendered before the police in 2005.
After Jyothakka’s surrender, Kesava Rao married another Maoist, Prameela alias Runitha, who was arrested by the Orissa police recently,” the release said.
–Agencies