Hyderabad, Feb 22 : Topmost Maoist leader Thippiri Tirupati, alias Devji, has reportedly surrendered before Telangana Police.

In what is considered the biggest blow to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), its general secretary Devji surrendered before police in Asifabad forests in the united Adilabad district, sources said on Sunday.

Sixteen Maoists also laid down their arms along with Devji, who had been leading the outfit after the killing of Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, who was killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh in May last year.

Police have not yet confirmed the surrender. The surrendered Maoists are likely to be presented before the media on Monday.

Devji was one of the most wanted Maoist leaders. Hailing from Peddapalli district, Telangana, he was a Central Committee Member and Police Bureau Member of CPI (Maoist). He carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh.

He was one of the 17 Maoist leaders belonging to Telangana and holding key positions in various committees of CPI(Maoist) across the country.

Last month, Telangana Director General of Police B. Shivadhar Reddy appealed to them to surrender.

The DGP had assured them that they would be rehabilitated as promised by the government.

With the slogan â??no more conflict, love your villageâ??, Telangana Police have appealed to them to give up their underground life and return to the mainstream.

Telangana Police have been taking steps to encourage these Maoists to surrender.

During 2025, a total of 576 Maoists surrendered to the Telangana Police. This is an unprecedented event since the formation of the People's War (now CPI-Maoist) in 1980.

In November last year, some members of Devjiâ??s protection team were among 50 Maoists arrested from five districts of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. The arrests were made on November 18, hours after an encounter in the forests of Alluri Sitharamaraju district in which top Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, his wife Raje and four others were killed.

A day after Hidmaâ??s killing, seven Maoists, including explosives expert Metturi Joga Rao alias Tech Shankar and six others, were killed in the same district.

Civil liberties groups had claimed that Devji and another top Maoist, Malla Raji Reddy, are in the custody of the state police. A habeas corpus petition was also filed in the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking a direction to the Andhra Pradesh Police to produce Devji and Raji Reddy in the court.

Andhra Pradesh Police, however, told the High Court that Devji and Raji Reddy were not in their custody.

/IANS