Daijiworld Media Network - Raipur/Hyderabad
Raipur/Hyderabad, Sep 13: In a significant breakthrough in India’s battle against left-wing extremism (LWE), senior Maoist commander and Central Committee member Pothula Padmawati, also known as Sujata, surrendered before Telangana Police on Saturday.
Sujata, 62, had been a key figure in Maoist operations across Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra for decades and carried a Rs 1 crore bounty on her head. Her surrender is being described as a major psychological and operational setback for the banned CPI (Maoist) and is expected to further dent the morale of its cadres.
Hailing from Peninskal Padu village in Katu Mandal, Gadwal district, Sujata was born into an agricultural family. Her father was a village postmaster, and her mother a homemaker. Sujata was married to Koteshwar Rao alias Kishanji, a top Maoist ideologue and West Bengal State Committee Secretary, who was killed in an encounter in 2011. The couple has a daughter.
Inspired by prominent Leftist leaders like Patel Sudhakar (Suryam) and RK (Sudhakar), Sujata joined the CPI-ML People’s War Group in 1982. She steadily climbed the ranks, initially working as a village-level propagandist, later commanding multiple Talams, and eventually leading Maoist operations in South Bastar.
In 2023, Sujata was inducted into the Central Committee of the CPI (Maoist), the organisation’s highest decision-making body. She also served as the editor of "Puri", a Maoist publication in the Koya tribal language.
Addressing the media, Telangana DGP Dr. Jitender said Sujata cited health issues and ideological disillusionment as reasons for her surrender. She expressed a desire to live peacefully with her family and reintegrate into society.
Under the Telangana state rehabilitation policy, she will receive Rs 25 lakh and other benefits designed to support former cadres in rebuilding their lives.
Sujata's surrender comes amid increasing pressure on Maoist groups in central India. The past year has seen the elimination of senior Maoist leaders like Baswaraju and Balakrishna in Chhattisgarh. In 2025 alone, 44 underground Maoist cadres from Telangana and Chhattisgarh have surrendered, including several senior leaders.
Officials believe her exit will disrupt Maoist command and communication networks, especially in South Bastar and Telangana regions. The Telangana BJP unit called her surrender a clear sign of ideological collapse, stating on social media that she had become “disillusioned with Maoism.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly reaffirmed the government’s goal to eliminate LWE by March 2026, and Sujata’s surrender is seen as a step toward fulfilling that objective.
Security agencies believe this high-profile development will encourage more defections from within Maoist ranks, accelerating efforts to bring peace and development to long-troubled tribal and forest areas in central and eastern India.