Patel Sudhakar Reddy, aliases Suryam, Damodar, and Venkatesh, (1950s – 24 May 2009) was a leader of the central committee of the

Communist Party of India (Maoist) The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a banned Marxist–Leninist-Maoist communist political party and militant organization in India which aims to overthrow the Republic of India through protracted people's war. It was founded on 21 S ...

Early life

Reddy was born in Kurthiravulacheruvu village in

Mahbubnagar district Mahabubnagar district, also known as Palamuru district, is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. Mahbubnagar, Mahabubnagar is the district headquarters which is popularly known as Palamoor. The district shares boundaries with Narayanapet ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

(now in

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

). Reddy joined the

Radical Students Union The Radical Students Union (RSU) was a frontal organization of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), a Naxalite group. Founded in 1974, it became defunct after 2005. In 2011 there were indications of plans to revive the organization. History ...

Gadwal Gadwal is a City and the district headquarters of Jogulamba Gadwal district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is located from the state capital Hyderabad And 59 km From Kurnool and is a state assembly constituency. Gadwal historicall ...

area in 1981. He passed engineering with a gold medal from

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate university, collegiate Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad, issued a ''firman'' calling f ...

. Later he joined the

Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War, usually called People's War Group (PWG), was an underground communist party in India. It merged with the Maoist Communist Centre of India to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist ...

which later became the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Politics

In 1983, Sudhakar Reddy moved to the

Eturnagaram Eturnagaram is a village and a mandal in Mulugu district in the state of Telangana in India. Dolmen There is a megalithic dolmen graves site near Eturnagaram in Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary. . Wildlife sanctuary The mandal area is surr ...

- Mahadevpur forest in north

as commander of a guerrilla squad. Later his Party transferred him to Gadchiroli district until his arrest in 1992 in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

and seven-year imprisonment. After his release in 1998 he returned to Naxalism in

Dandakaranya Dandakaranya (), also rendered Dandaka (, IAST: ), is a historical region and the name of a forest mentioned in the ancient Indian epic ''Ramayana''. It covers about of land, which includes the Abujhmar Hills in the west and borders the East ...

and then Andhra Pradesh. In 2005 he was elected to his party's Central Committee as well as central military commission.

Andhra Pradesh Police The Andhra Pradesh Police is the law enforcement agency of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Public order and police being a state subject in India, the police force is headed by the Director General of Police, Harish Kumar Gupta, IPS. The ...

accused Reddy of being involved in several major crimes including the murders of Home Minister

Alimineti Madhava Reddy Alimineti Madhava Reddy (28 February 1949 – 7 March 2000) was an Indian politician from the state of Andhra Pradesh. He was elected four times to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Bhongir (Assembly constituency), Bhongir constituen ...

Greyhounds The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-coated, "S-s ...

founder K. S. Vyas, IPS officer Umesh Chandra, and the attempted murder of Chief Minister

N. Chandrababu Naidu Nara Chandrababu Naidu (; born 20 April 1950), commonly known as CBN, is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He holds the record of longest-serving Chief Minister in the political histor ...

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...

in 2003. He was also accused in the

Balimela reservoir boat attack The Balimela reservoir boat attack occurred on 29 June 2008 when Communist Party of India (Maoist) forces ambushed a boat on the Balimela Reservoir in Odisha, India carrying 60 Greyhounds commandos, 5 police officers, and a boat operator. The b ...

which killed 38 people.

Death

Sudhakar Reddy was killed during a combing operation by Andhra Police in

Warangal district Warangal district (formerly Warangal Rural district) is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. The district shares boundaries with Mahabubabad, Jangaon, Hanamkonda, Mulugu and Bhupalpally districts. As of June 2021, Hanamkonda tenta ...

on 24 May 2009. Another senior Maoist leader Venkataiah, a district committee member of the

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 811,844 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal serv ...

unit, was also killed in the encounter. Police had gone to the Lavella forest area in Tadwai mandal of Warangal district after receiving specific intelligence regarding the presence of Maoists in the area. District Superintendent of Police V.C. Sajjanar stated that the team located around 25 Maoists in Durgam Gutta in Lavella forest. Sajjanar claimed that police asked them to surrender, but they refused and fired at police. Sajjnar stated that a gunfight ensued for the next 30 minutes between police and Maoists. After the firing came to a halt, police searched the area and discovered the bodies of Reddy and Venkataiah. The CPI (Maoist) alleged that the encounter was staged by the police and that Sudhakar Reddy was arrested near the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border and shot dead in

References

External links

Maoist top leader Sudhakara Reddy gunned down in encounter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reddy, Patel Sudhakar 2009 deaths Telugu politicians Communist Party of India (Maoist) politicians Year of birth missing Indian guerrillas Naxalites People shot dead by law enforcement officers in India Osmania University alumni People from Mahbubnagar district Anti-revisionists 1950s births