Telangana Police are facing a major challenge in tracing veteran Maoist leader Muppalla Lakshmana Rao, aka Ganapathi, whose whereabouts remain unknown despite intensified anti-Naxal operations in recent years.
Security agencies continue their efforts to locate the former top commander of the Maoist movement as both the Centre and the state government push for his arrest or surrender. The ongoing search has informally come to be known as “Operation Ganapathi.” The issue was recently discussed at a high-level meeting in New Delhi, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
According to officials, Shah reportedly told the Telangana Police that securing the surrender of the founder member of CPI(Maoist) was a major responsibility for the state’s security forces. The matter has also drawn attention from the state's Chief Minister, A. Revanth Reddy, who recently appealed to Maoists to lay down their arms during a large surrender programme.
Security agencies believe that locating Ganapathi could deal a decisive blow to the Maoist movement. As the former general secretary of the central committee of the CPI(Maoist), he led the insurgent movement for over four decades and played a crucial role in expanding left-wing extremism across several states.
Investigators say that under his leadership, Maoist activities spread to nearly a dozen states at their peak. However, officials say the situation has changed significantly in recent years. Continuous anti-Naxal operations conducted by the central forces and the state Police have weakened the organisation.
Several top Maoist leaders have been killed in encounters, while hundreds of cadres have surrendered. Sources in the state administration say the Maoist presence has now shrunk considerably and is reportedly confined to a limited number of police station areas in remote forest regions.
Despite these developments, Ganapathi’s whereabouts remain a mystery. Police have been questioning several surrendered Maoist leaders and former gunmen who were once part of his security detail. According to investigators, some of them claimed they had last seen him around seven or eight months ago. There are also unconfirmed intelligence reports suggesting that he was moved from the Abujmarh region of Chhattisgarh to Bihar.
Security officials suspect that he may have crossed into Nepal through Bihar to avoid detection. Intelligence inputs further indicate that Ganapathi may have anticipated the weakening of the Maoist movement nearly two years ago and disappeared before security agencies could close in on him. Investigators believe he has deliberately avoided using phones or digital devices to remain untraceable.
The 76-year-old Maoist leader is also reportedly suffering from several health issues. Authorities suspect that he may currently be living under a false identity in a location where medical assistance is accessible.
Follow us
