Telangana Police intensify hunt for ex-Maoist chief Ganapathy
After the recent surrender of key Maoist figure Devji, Telangana Police have shifted their focus to tracking down Muppala Lakshmana Rao, better known as Ganapathy.
Once the general secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist), Ganapathy has been underground for decades and stepped down as general secretary around 2018; intelligence officials believe he may be hiding in an urban area under a different identity.
Police say efforts to trace him are ongoing, especially with the March 31 deadline announced by the union government looming next month.
Tracing Ganapathy's journey from education to Maoism
Ganapathy grew up in Beerpur village, Karimnagar district, and studied science and education before joining the Maoists in 1970.
He climbed quickly through the ranks—leading armed squads, heading committees, and eventually uniting major groups to form CPI (Maoist) in 2004.
Under his leadership, the group expanded across several states and was linked to large-scale attacks on security forces.
Now in his 70s and believed to be hiding under a different identity, he remains elusive as police hope his arrest could reveal how the organization operates behind the scenes.