Senior CPI (Maoist) Leader Pothula Padmavathi Surrenders After 43 Years Underground In Telangana

After spending more than four decades underground, senior CPI (Maoist) leader Pothula Padmavathi - also known by her aliases Kalpana, Mynakka, or Sujatha - surrendered to the Telangana Police and rejoined mainstream life. The 62-year-old leader made the decision in the presence of Telangana DGP Dr Jitender on Saturday, citing deteriorating health as the primary reason for leaving the outlawed movement.

During the ceremony, DGP Jitender handed over a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh to Padmavathi, along with assurances of additional benefits under the Telangana government's rehabilitation schemes for surrendered cadres.

A Life in the Underground Movement

Padmavathi, a native of Penchikalpadu village, Gattu mandal, Jogulamba Gadwal district, joined the CPI (ML) People's War Group in December 1982, inspired by Marxist-Leninist ideology through her cousins. She initially worked as a village campaigner during the "Back to Villages" movement with Suguna (her cousin-in-law) before briefly joining the Jana Natya Mandali, where she worked alongside cultural icons such as the late Gaddar and Mala Sanjeev alias Lengu Dada (who himself surrendered in 2025).

Later, she shifted to Peace Book Centre in Koti, where she came into contact with Mallojula Koteshwar Rao alias Kishanji, then the Andhra Pradesh Committee Secretary of CPI (ML) PWG. The two married in 1984.

In 1987, Padmavathi and Kishanji were transferred to the Dandakaranya Forest Committee in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, while their daughter was left in the care of a trusted activist. Kishanji rose to become a Central Committee Member (CCM) and West Bengal State Committee Secretary of CPI (Maoist) before being killed in an armed encounter with police at the Bengal-Jharkhand border in West Midnapore district, West Bengal, on 24 November 2011.

Family Ties and Early Influences

Padmavathi's father, Thimma Reddy, worked as a village Postmaster before his death in 1983, while her mother Venkamma is a homemaker. She has three brothers and one sister. Her elder brother Pothula Srinivas Reddy briefly worked with the People's War Group in 1982.

Her political orientation was strongly shaped by her cousins: Patel Sudhakar Reddy alias Suryam (a Central Committee Member who died in 2009), Pothula Sudershan Reddy alias RK (a Divisional Committee Member who drowned in the Krishna River in Nallamala), and Suguna, wife of Sudershan Reddy, who was killed in an exchange of fire.

Senior Maoist Leader Chooses Rehabilitation

In May 2025, police confirmed that Padmavathi had expressed her decision to quit the underground movement due to worsening health conditions. She stated her intention to focus on her personal well-being, reunite with her family, and live a peaceful life with government support.

She had served in various senior positions within the Maoist organization, including Central Committee Member (CCM), Secretariat Member, South Sub-Zonal Bureau Secretary, and In-charge of Janathana Sarkar (Revolutionary People's Committees) under the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC).

Telangana's Strategy and Growing Surrenders

According to DGP Jitender, Padmavathi's decision is part of a wider trend. In 2025 alone, 404 underground Maoist cadres surrendered before Telangana Police. These included four State Committee Members (SCMs), one Divisional Committee Secretary (DVCS), eight Divisional Committee Members (DVCMs), and 34 Area Committee Members (ACMs).

Out of the 15 Central Committee Members (CCMs) of CPI (Maoist), 10 hail from Telangana. Currently, 78 underground cadres of the outfit are natives of the state, most of them operating in border regions.

The DGP urged remaining Maoist cadres from Telangana to return to their villages, join mainstream society, and contribute to the state's development through constructive engagement rather than armed struggle.