Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh police on Saturday produced a top Maoist involved in fabrication and supply of rocket launchers before the media, ending nearly three weeks of speculation over his surrender.
Srinivas Reddy alias Raghu alias Tech Madhu, belonging to the technical wing of the Andhra Pradesh state committee of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist, and his wife Sudharani alias Vasanta were produced before the media in Warangal in the morning.
Police claimed that Madhu surrendered early on Saturday. He was eluding police in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu ever since the seizure of more than 800 rockets from two different places in Andhra Pradesh in September.
Madhu told newsmen in the presence of top police officials that he supplied 1,650 rocket launchers to Maoists. He said futility of the armed movement and internal differences in the outfit were the reasons for their surrender.
"The movement has failed to achieve its objective of ushering in a revolution," he said, adding there were differences between him and top leader Patel Sudhakar Reddy, who heads the technical wing of the outfit.
He also claimed that Maoists lacked people's support and this was resulting in frustration among the cadre. He said they had been trying to surrender since 2005.
Before the couple was produced before the media, there was speculation over their surrender.
On October 17, there were reports that they had surrendered before the Warangal police, followed by contradictory statements from the government and police officials.
While Home Minister K Jana Reddy initially confirmed the surrender, Director General of Police Swaranjit Sen and other officials repeatedly denied it.
Jana Reddy backtracked to say that Madhu had conveyed through some mediators that he was willing to surrender. During the last fortnight, police had unearthed arms dumps in Nallamalla forests reportedly with Madhu's assistance.
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Madhu and his wife have been handed over to Mahabubnagar police as the rocket shells and launchers were seized in that district.
Police had seized 875 rocket shells and launchers and other ammunition to be delivered to the Maoists from the stock houses of a transport company in Mahbubnagar and Prakasam districts on September 8.
This was the largest haul of rocket shells in the country.
Preliminary investigation by the Andhra Pradesh and Chennai police into the transportation of rocket shells, rocket launchers and other ammunition had indicated that three consignments consisting of 149 gunny bags and weighing 5,120 kg were sent to Andhra Pradesh through a private transporter since August 2005.
Police investigations revealed that Madhu with his technical expertise had coordinated with seven foundries, including his own Bharath Fine Engineering, in Ambattur area near Chennai to manufacture spare parts for assembling 1,000 rocket shells and launchers over the last three years.
Madhu, along with Vasanta, also a technical expert, stayed in a house at Korattur, a suburb of Chennai. Soon after the rockets seizure in Andhra Pradesh, the couple fled Chennai September 9.
Police had arrested seven people, including the owners of the foundries and an agent of Kranti Transport Company that had transported the consignments to Andhra Pradesh.
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