Narahari (second from right) and his wife Danamma (second from left)
Hyderabad: In a further setback to the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), Central Committee member Pasunuri Narahari, alias Santosh, surrendered before Telangana Director General of Police CV Anand in Hyderabad on Tuesday, May 26.
Though he had surrendered before the Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) on May 12, he was undergoing treatment for Malaria and Dengue and has recovered, the reason why he was produced before the media on Tuesday.
Narahari (64) is also the Secretary of the CPI (Maoist) Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC).
His wife, Medara Danamma, also known as Latha, a member of BJSAC, also surrendered before the police along with him.
CV Anand handed over the reward cheques worth Rs 25 lakh to Narahari and Rs 20 lakh to Danamma on the occasion.
Addressing the media, Narahari said that he and his wife obtained permission from Central Committee Member Misir Besra before surrendering to the police. He said the party leadership had no objection if they wanted to surrender and join the mainstream.
“Due to the heavy losses the party has suffered across the country in the recent times we understood that armed struggle is difficult in the present situation. The poor people will one day achieve their rights legally, and they will be useful for the country,” he said, also appealing to Misir Besra and Ganapathi to join the mainstream and avail the benefits being offered by Telangana government.
Narahari was born in Somidi village in Kazipet mandal, Hanumakonda district, Telangana. While pursuing his undergraduate education at LB College in Warangal, he got attracted to the Maoist ideology and joined the naxal movement in 1982.
CV Anand said that he gained expertise in the technical department of the Maoist party in Chhattisgarh, after which he was made the regional committee member. He served in the Nagpur technical department for 4 years, after which he was shifted to Jharkhand in 2005. In 2006 he was made the BJSAC member, and in 2010 he headed the Bihar State Committee. In 2017 he was elevated to the position of the Central Committee Member, and also the in-charge of the Eastern Regional Bureau of the party.
“He had also served as the technical department head of the State Military Commission in Jharkhand, where he trained the cadre in the manufacture of firearms, mortars, rockets and rocket-propelled grenades, laying booby-traps, landmines, and taught them how to maintain, repair and use the arms,” CV Anand said.
He also said that Narahari met Danamma, a native of Dachupalli mandal of Guntur district in 1986, and married her in 1988. After that, she accompanied him wherever he was posted at. She was also the Divisional Committee Member and the technical department member while serving in Jharkhand and south Bastar.
In 2004 she was arrested in Nagpur, and served 7 years in Nagpur Central Prison. While out on bail, she once again went underground. Since 2018, she has been the State Committee Member of BJSAC.
A total of 264 Maoist cadres have surrendered in Telangana so far this year, and 822 surrendered since 2024, when the operation against the Maoists was launched, the DGP said, adding that 334 weapons were also surrendered.
Across the country, he said only 47 Maoists were still underground, including 15 from Chhattisgarh, 15 from Odisha, 13 from Jharkhand, 3 from Telangana and 1 from Andhra Pradesh. Only 2 Central Committee Members were still at large.
Among the three from Telangana still underground are former Secretary of the Maoist party Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathi, his wife Jode Ratna Bai, and Wartha Shekhar alias Mangthu.
CV Anand also said that all the Maoists from other states who surrendered before the Telangana police have been handed over to their respective states after being given the reward amount, except 5, who he said, will be repatriated soon.
He said soon he will meet those from Telangana who surrendered and have been living in their respective villages. He conceded that integrating them into the mainstream society will be a challenge for the police.
This post was last modified on May 26, 2026 6:48 pm