Telangana Police arrest two top Maoist commanders and three front group operatives
Hyderabad: Telangana Police arrested two senior CPI (Maoist) commanders and three operatives from affiliated front organisations in Achampet on Saturday. The arrests thwarted an attempt to revive Maoist activity in the Nallamalla region.
Top Maoist commanders held with arms and support network
The arrested Maoist leaders include Meesala Saloman alias Santhosh, 52, a military instructor with a ₹20 lakh bounty, and his wife, Sanbatti, 40, a divisional cadre with an ₹8 lakh reward. Police accused them of leading violent operations across Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh.
Saloman has worked with CPI (Maoist) for over 30 years. He currently serves on the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and reports directly to top commanders Thippiri Thirupathi alias Devuji and Hidma. As a military instructor, he trained over 200 PLGA battalion members and took part in 64 major attacks. These include ambushes in Remidicherla (1999), Narsaravopet (2001), Addanki (2003), Chilakaluripet (2004), Kasalpad (2014), and Jonnagudem (2021).
Sanbatti joined the movement in 2005 and now commands the 2nd platoon of a PLGA battalion. Police linked her to deadly ambushes in Kasalpad, Gajulagutta, Minpa, and Jeeragudem, which killed several CRPF and state police personnel.
Alongside them, police arrested Edla Ambaiah, a government teacher and Telangana Praja Front co-convener; Jakka Balaiah, a petrol pump owner and Civil Liberties Committee joint secretary; and Manshetty Yadaiah, a farmer. Investigators accused them of aiding and sheltering Maoists in the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district.
During the operation, police seized a metallic Ertiga vehicle, ₹1.25 lakh in cash, 10 live AK-47 rounds, 10 INSAS rounds, a radio, and five gelatine sticks.
Police said intensified combing operations near the Telangana–Chhattisgarh border exposed the Maoist regrouping efforts. Senior leaders, including Thippiri Thirupathi and Bade Chokka Rao, reportedly guided this plan.
Nagarkurnool Superintendent of Police appealed to underground Maoist members to surrender under the Telangana government’s rehabilitation policy. He also warned citizens against aiding outlawed groups, noting that legal action would follow any such support.