Maoist ex-chief Ganapathi still at large, trail cold despite recent surrenders

Hyderabad: More than seven years after he stepped down from the top post citing ill health, former Maoist supremo Muppala Lakshman Rao alias Ganapathi remains one of the most elusive figures in India's insurgency landscape—officially still listed as absconding, yet virtually absent from the movement's visible operations and beyond the reach of security agencies. Now about 76, the former general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) has not resurfaced publicly, even as security forces have intensified operations against Left Wing extremism across central India. Despite a wave of recent surrenders by senior leaders, investigators say there has been no credible lead on his location. Carries Rs 1 cr rewardOfficial records of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and multiple state police units, including Telangana, continue to list him as absconding in several cases. Officials said Ganapathi continues to carry a reward of ₹1 crore. His departure from the top post was described as a ‘voluntary withdrawal' due to ill health and advancing age. Officials said none of the senior leaders who surrendered in recent months, including Mallojula Venugopal alias Sonu, Takkelapalli Vasudeva Rao alias Ashanna, Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devji, and Malla Rajireddy alias Sangram, has disclosed any information about Ganapathi's whereabouts. During interrogations over the past few days, neither Devji nor Sangram revealed clues about his location, Telangana police sources said, deepening the mystery around Ganapathi's prolonged disappearance. An intelligence source said the lack of clarity persists even after high-profile surrenders. Hideout a mystery"So far, none of the surrendered leaders has revealed his hideout. Either they don't know, or some who know a little may not be revealing it," the source said. Security assessments cited by investigators suggest that his advanced age and limited mobility make long-term survival in deep forest zones unlikely. This has shifted attention to the possibility that he may be sheltered within urban networks — structures he had earlier encouraged as part of expanding the outfit's ‘urban work'. Sources in the Telangana police department believe he is likely in an urban location outside Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and consider it improbable that he is hiding in forest areas. They also do not rule out the possibility that he could be outside India, including in Nepal or the Philippines for treatment. An official, however, said nothing has been established with certainty. High-value fugitiveAgencies continue to treat Ganapathi as a high-value fugitive. Investigators noted that he is named in multiple case files handled by different NIA branches in Kolkata, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Raipur and Mumbai, with rewards announced in several matters.Yet his trail has gone cold for years, prompting speculation among officials about whether his absence reflects a carefully planned underground security strategy or simply an ageing leader's retreat from active involvement. Ganapathi first worked as teacherHyderabad: Ganapathi, a native of Beerpur in Sarangapur mandal of Jagtial district, studied BSc and BEd and worked as a teacher in Karimnagar before joining the movement in the 1970s. He rose steadily through the Andhra- and Telangana-origin Maoist stream, becoming general secretary of CPI(ML) (People's War) in 1992 and later heading the unified CPI (Maoist) after its formation in Sept 2004. Party documents describe him more as an ideological strategist and political organiser than a battlefield commander, responsible for policy direction, liaison with front organisations and building support structures.