On February 22, 2026, one of the biggest names in India’s Maoist movement finally gave up. Thippiri Tirupathi, who most people know as Devuji, walked out of the dense forests in Telangana and surrendered to the police. This is huge because Devuji wasn’t just any member. He was basically the top boss of the banned CPI (Maoist) party. He didn’t come alone either. He brought along senior leader Malla Raji Reddy and a few other followers.
Devuji is 62 now and had a massive 1 crore bounty on his head. For decades he was the man behind the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army. He believed deeply in using guns to make a point. Because of his leadership the group carried out attacks that took the lives of over 250 security personnel. Seeing a man like that walk into a police station is something security experts never thought they would see. Usually leaders of his rank never surrender.
The timing of this is also very interesting. The central government set a hard deadline of March 31, 2026 to end Naxalism in India. It looks like the pressure from the police and the military worked. Just last year there were 17 members on the central committee and now there is only one person left standing. The “Red Corridor” that used to cover so much of the map is barely there anymore.
The Telangana police have been pushing their rehabilitation scheme pretty hard lately. They basically told the rebels that they can have a fresh start if they just stop fighting. Over the last two years hundreds of them have actually taken that deal. It seems like the ideology just isn’t holding up against the reality of modern life.
In the end this feels more like a shift in the soul of the country than just a police report. For forty years this conflict hung over India. Now the most feared man in the movement is choosing to live a normal life instead of dying in the woods for a cause that is fading away. It is a powerful sign that the era of armed struggle in these regions is likely over.
