‘Mortars, camps broke us’: Surrendered Maoist commander Deva reveals turning point in jungle war

Hyderabad: A surrendered Maoist battalion commander says the balance in the long-running conflict shifted decisively not because of aerial firepower alone, but due to sustained mortar attacks, expanding security grids, and shrinking forest sanctuaries that eroded guerrilla mobility.

Barise Sukka alias Deva, a former battalion commander of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, said the cumulative impact of 81mm mortar use, proliferation of security camps, mine-protected vehicles, informer networks and District Reserve Guard units familiar with local terrain steadily weakened Maoist operational capacity.




"In war, police also die, and we also die — I was not trigger happy; killing was never for pleasure," Sukka told TOI, while admitting mistakes in specific operations and in the broader course of the movement. "Party is ending. Where will I go? I have to go to my village," he said after surrendering. His palms were rough and battle-scarred, and he remained largely expressionless during the three-hour interaction.

Mortars and shrinking space

Sukka said the conflict entered a new phase when security forces began sustained use of 81mm mortars. The impact, he said, was both physical and organisational, preventing Maoist units from holding positions. "When 81mm mortars began landing, the ground war changed," he said, adding that shelling disrupted formations and curtailed movement.

Referring to the 2025 Karreguttalu operations, he said mortar fire combined with heavy ground deployment proved more consequential than aerial firing alone. He alleged drone surveillance and bombing, as well as helicopter firing, claiming flight patterns shifted to higher altitudes after Maoists hit one aircraft. The area, he said, was heavily mined, while the Feb-to-June tactical cycle of operations continued under increasingly constrained conditions.

He denied surrendering for money, saying police recovered weapons from a hidden dump using GPS coordinates recorded in a diary. "Weapon is not big; courage matters," he said, reflecting on ideology and changing realities. He said villages increasingly demanded electricity, healthcare and roads, and that the movement had reached an endpoint for him. "After the surrender, I met my mother, wife, and kids. I was here in Hyderabad. I want to go home," he said.

Security forces use the 81mm mortar as an indirect fire weapon in counter-insurgency and jungle warfare operations, with an effective range of up to about 6 km.

Initial training in Pamedu

A Koya tribal from Puvarthi village in Sukma district, Sukka said he joined the Maoist movement in 2003 after mobilisation drives in his area, including cultural programmes by Chetana Natya Mandali. He described slain commander Madavi Hidma as a childhood friend and said senior leaders such as Mallojula Venugopal alias Sonu and Sujathakka inspired villagers to join.

He underwent initial training in Pamedu and advanced military instruction in 2009 covering ambush tactics, raids, reconnaissance, movement tracking and armed operations. Police records describe him as a trainer in trekking, firing practice, IED planning and physical conditioning.

Sukka claimed involvement in several major attacks, including the 2010 Singaram blast and the 2013 Jhiram Ghati ambush. He said Congress leader Mahendra Karma was the intended target at Jhiram and that it was not the plan "to kill everyone", though he acknowledged the killings and called it a mistake in hindsight.

In some ambushes, he said, personnel were asked to surrender, but exchanges of fire followed. "CRPF personnel never surrender. They will fight till death and say ‘Bharat mata ki jai' even at the end," he recalled.

Terrain advantage eroded

According to Sukka, Maoists initially benefited from intimate terrain knowledge, local support and ambush positioning. Over time, this advantage diminished as DRG units and Koya commandos — many with local roots or former cadre backgrounds — strengthened operations. "They know the place. They know the people," he said.

Road construction, frequent patrols, helipads and new camps fundamentally altered the battlefield by cutting forest routes and enabling rapid troop movement. Mine-protected vehicles posed a particular challenge, as guerrillas struggled to neutralise them effectively.

Weapon shortages compounded difficulties. Sukka said barrel grenade launchers malfunctioned during an attempted camp attack and that rocket launchers and RPG systems were scarce.

An IED specialist, he said explosives were typically made using slurry or ammonium nitrate. Even so, many ambushes failed, with successful attacks requiring days of surveillance and precise timing, he added.