Pothula Padmavathi, 62, alias Sujatha — a Central Committee Member (CCM) of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and wife of slain politburo member Mallojula Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji — surrendered before Telangana police Saturday after being underground for more than four decades.
Sujatha, who was serving as a senior CCM and in charge of the South Sub-Zonal Bureau of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, carried a reward of Rs 40 lakh announced by Chhattisgarh Police. She was wanted in over 72 cases registered in different districts of Bastar.
Her surrender is being viewed in the backdrop of internal differences within the banned outfit.
“After the death of its former general secretary, Basavaraju, a bitter power struggle rages among cadres — each desperate to grab the position and exploit the extortion money looted from innocent villagers. The same story is unfolding in Bastar. Following the death of Ramana in 2019, Sujata and Ramachandra Reddy have been locked in a tug-of-war for the secretary’s position,” said Inspector General of Police for Bastar Range P. Sundarraj.
He went on to say: “Disillusioned by these ugly power struggles and the outfit’s steady decline, senior leader Sujatha ultimately chose to walk away, surrendering and embracing the mainstream. Her departure marks a major psychological blow to the Maoist ranks. Her surrender and neutralisation of Central Committee Member Modem Balakrishna alias Manoj in Gariyaband recently have dealt severe blows to the Maoist leadership structure”.
Under the rehabilitation package, Sujatha will receive Rs 25 lakh — the bounty she carried in Telangana — along with other benefits under the state government’s policy for surrendered Maoists.
Sujatha cited her ill-health as the reason for her decision. “In May this year, I communicated my request to the Central Committee, stating my wish to leave the organization on health grounds and rejoin the mainstream with government support,” she said.
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Sujatha hails from Penchikalapadu village in Jogulamba Gadwal district. Her father, Thimma Reddy, belonged to a farming family and also served as the village postmaster. She was in Class 12 when was influenced by the Marxist-Leninist ideology, joining the Maoist movement in 1982.
Several of her family members were involved in the Maoist movement, in which her older brothers and two cousins became senior leaders. In 1987, Sujatha and her husband Kishenji were assigned to the Dandakaranya Forest Committee in Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra, while their daughter was placed under the care of a trusted aide.
In 2008, Kishenji was transferred to West Bengal. He was killed in an encounter with police in West Midnapore district on November 24, 2011. Other members of her family, including two cousins and a sister-in-law who were in the Maoist ranks, were also killed in encounters.
Kishenji’s brother, Mallojula Venugopal Rao, a politburo member better known as Abhay, continues to remain underground.
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Sujatha was sent to Bastar in 1997. In 2022, she became secretary of the South Sub-Zonal Bureau of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee. The following year, she was elevated as a Central Committee Member. She also served as editor of ‘Pethuri’, a magazine published in the Koya language and circulated thrice a year in the region.
Police sources said that 78 underground cadres of CPI (Maoist) are natives of Telangana. Out of the 15 Central Committee Members, 10 belong to the state.
Appealing to the remaining members to surrender, IG P. Sundarraj said: “Maoist cadres and its leadership doesn’t have any other option except to shun violence and join the mainstream.”
