Communist Party of India (Maoist) Politburo Member and Central Committee member Tippiri Thirupati alias Devuji alias Kumma Dada after surrendering to the Telangana Police in Hyderabad on Tuesday (February 24, 2026). | Photo credit: NAGARA GOPAL
Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram, CPI (Maoist) Central Committee member after surrendering before Telangana Director General of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy in Hyderabad on Tuesday (February 24, 2026). | Photo credit: NAGARA GOPAL
Top Maoist leaders – 62-year-old Tippiri Thirupathi alias Devuji and 76-year-old Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram – who joined the mainstream, giving up decades of armed struggle, saw a meteoric rise in the Naxalite ranks from student leaders of the Radical Students Union (RSU) to the top banned organization CPIoechelons.
Both hail from the erstwhile undivided district of Karimnagar – considered the cradle of the naxal movement – and have become members of the banned organization’s Central Committee, the apex decision-making body of the banned organisation.
A native of Shastrulapally in Peddapalli district, Mr. Raji Reddy joined RSU in 1974 after completing his Intermediate. He went underground in the late 1980s after working as an organizer in the Godavarikhani coal belt for several years.
Mr. Tirupathi actively spearheaded RSU activities as the district president of the radical student wing during his university days. He was attracted to the Naxal movement during the Jagtial Jaithra Yatra rally of the CPI (ML) People’s War Group (PWG) and subsequently joined the banned organization in 1982.
He moved to Dandakaranya forest area to work with Mr. Raji Reddy alias Sangram on the suggestion of top naxal leader Muppal Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathi, a native of Beerpur in Jagtial district. Ganapathi, former general secretary of CPI (Maoist), continues to remain elusive.
Mr. Tirupathi headed the key Central Military Commission and Mr. Raji Reddy the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee until their surrender. Both were known for their expertise in guerilla warfare between naxal ranks in the Dandakaranya region comprising parts of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, from where they operated for the past few decades.
A celebratory mood pervaded Raji Reddy’s native village of Shastrulapalli and Tirupathi’s hometown of Korutla, following their return to the mainstream from a long underground life.
Published – 24 Feb 2026 21:38 IST
