Nellore: Maoist leader Devakka surrenders to cops

Nellore: A woman Maoist who was allegedly involved in several activities in the East Godavari division of Andhra Pradesh surrendered to the district police on Tuesday. Police identified her as Sri Ramoju Rajeswari alias Devakka alias Lakshmi, a member of the CPI (Maoist). She carried a reward of Rs 4 lakh on her head.

Superintendent of police Ch Vijaya Rao told a press conference here on Tuesday that the department will provide all benefits declared by the state government in the notification and a reward of Rs 4 lakh will be handed over to Rajeswari, he added.

Devakka was an area committee member in Yellavaram Dalam of the erstwhile East Godavari district division. She has 10 cases registered against her in various police stations in the district. Devakka who hails from Tadikonda in Guntur district married Sri Ramoju Narendra alias Subbanna from Sathyavolu Agraharam of Kavali mandal in Nellore district.

Subbanna actively participated in the activities of the Radical Students League (RSL) and Radical Youth League (RYL) and the couple left their two sons in a hostel located in the Guntur district before joining the CPI (Maoist) activities.

Further, she along with her husband Sri Ramoju Narendra, joined the CPI-ML People's War Group in 1984 and worked as den keeper during the initial days in Rajahmundry and in Visakhapatnam districts. Devakka provided shelter to senior members of the Maoists group and organised meetings and also provided medical support to the leaders of the party. She organised a den for more than four years and provided shelter to senior cadre like S Keshava Rao alias Ganganna, Muppalla Lakshamana Rao alias Ganapathi, Nimmaluri Bhaskar alias Mallik, Nalla Adi Reddy alias Raghu and V Chandramouli.

Kakinada police arrested her and Narendra in 1987 along with five Maoists while they were in possession of arms. They were detained in Rajahmundry Central Jail. In retaliation, Maoist leaders abducted a group of 8 IAS officers on November 27, 1987, at the Gurthedu area in East Godavari district and demanded the release of their party cadre which created sensation.

The state government released seven Maoists, including Devakka and Narendra and sent them to the forest area. Then Narendra and Devakka started working in East Godavari DVC and Yellavaram Dalam. The state government had announced a reward of Rs 4 lakh on Devakka. With the death of her husband in 2018, she decided to surrender before the police.