Senior Maoist Leader Pothula Padmavathi Surrenders After 43 Years Underground

In a significant breakthrough for Telangana Police, one of the senior-most leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist), Pothula Padmavathi alias Kalpana, Mynakka, Mainabai and Sujatha, today joined the mainstream after spending more than four decades underground. The 62-year-old Central Committee Member (CCM) and Secretariat Member of the outfit surrendered in the presence of the Director General of Police, Telangana.

Padmavathi hails from Penchikalpadu village, Gattu mandal, Jogulamba Gadwal district. Born to an agricultural family, she was influenced by radical Left ideology during her college days through her cousins, several of whom were prominent Maoist leaders. In December 1982, she joined the CPI (ML) People’s War Group and began her underground life.

She briefly worked with cultural front Jana Natya Mandali, alongside revolutionary balladeer Gaddar, before moving into core organisational roles. In 1984, she married Mallojula Koteshwar Rao alias Kishanji, a top Maoist strategist who was later killed in an encounter in West Bengal in 2011. The couple had a daughter, who was cared for by sympathisers as they went underground.

Padmavathi’s rise was steady across Gadchiroli and Bastar regions, where she commanded various dalams (armed squads). By 1996, she became Dalam Commander and, over the years, took charge of several divisions in Dandakaranya. In 2001, she was inducted into the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), overseeing both armed and frontal organisations.

Her leadership expanded further in 2007 when she was promoted to Secretariat Member of DKSZC and placed in charge of the Janathana Sarkar—the Maoists’ parallel governance system. By 2018, she was the key figure heading the Janathana Sarkar across the entire Dandakaranya region. In 2022, she rose to become Secretary of the South Sub-Zonal Bureau, and in 2023, she was formally inducted into the Maoist Central Committee.

Apart from organisational responsibilities, she also edited Pethuri, a Koya-language magazine circulated in Maoist strongholds. With her surrender after 43 years underground, security officials called the move a major setback to the CPI (Maoist) and a sign of weakening cadre strength in the Dandakaranya region.

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