Top Maoist Leader V Balakrishna Naidu Surrenders

Vishakhapatnam: The outlawed CPI-Maoist outfit received a major jolt with one of its top cadre surrendering before Vishakhapatnam Police in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday.

According to sources, V Balakrishna Naidu alias Bibek, Assistant Commander of Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC), surrendered before the Vishakhapatnam SP, Rahul Dev Sharma in the afternoon.

Apart from being a top cadre of AOBSZC, Balakrishna was also in-charge of Pedabailu Area Committee.

He was carrying a cash reward of Rs 4 lakh on his head by the Andhra Pradesh government.

According to police, Balakrishna was involved in several cases of violence in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. He has a number of cases pending at different police stations in Malkangiri, Chitrakonda and Koraput of Odisha.

A B.Tech engineer, Balakrishna had joined the Maoist outfit in January last year.

Initially, he was given the charge of inducting youths to the Maoist outfit. In January this year, he was appointed as an area committee member. Later, he met the most-wanted Maoist leaders like Ramkrishna alias RK and Uday under whom he underwent training on handling arms and ammunition.

Asked about the reasons for the Maoist outfit, Balakrishna said the Maoist organization is now in a very bad shape. Due to caste discrimination by some senior cadres, there has been growing discontentment among the members.

“Since the cadres have deviated from the original ideology, I decided to quit the outfit and surrender before police,” he added.