Visakhapatnam: Police arrest six Maoists at Andhra Odisha border, key leader surrenders

Visakhapatnam district police arrested six key Maoists on the Andhra-Odisha border (AOB). Maoist leader RK Gunmen is also believed to be among those arrested. In particular, those who killed Araku MLA Kidari Sarveshwara Rao and former MLA Siveri Soma were also among those arrested.

AP DGP Gautam Sawang held a press conference on Thursday regarding the arrest of Maoists on the AP-Odisha border. The DGP said six Maoists were arrested on the AP-Odisha border. He said there were some other key leaders, including the divisional commander. He said Gadarla Ravi, a key Maoist leader, had surrendered to police.

Going by the recent developments, the Maoists in AOB are facing a series of setbacks. The party has lost the cadre in the region over the years with the surrenders, arrests, and crossfire of key leaders.

With coronavirus outbreak on one side and lack of recruitment from the local tribals, the Moist party is losing ground. The loss of six lives in the clashes in Visakhapatnam district of AP before the arrests, including the presence of two Divisional Committee members (DCM) level leaders, was a major blow to the party. According to party sympathizers, the Maoists have completely lost ground in AOB over the past few years.

The increase in detention from the Odisha side in the Kataf area, which has been their stronghold for years, and the intensification of joint operations by the AP-Odisha police have had an impact on the organisational structure of the Maoists.