Hyderabad: In a major setback to the Communist Party of India (Maoist), a Maoist couple, who were in the top cadre working as Regional Committee Member and Commander, and worked for over 31 years, surrendered before the Hydeabad city police on Tuesday.
The police said that the surrendered Maoist couple Koti Purushotham and Koti Vinodhini, were carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh and Rs 5 lakh respectively, and played a vital role in propaganda and recruitment of cadre, said Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar.
Koti Purshotham alias Vijay alias Sharath Chandra (68) and his wife Koti Vinodhini alias Bharathakka (63), both residents of Addagutta in Secunderabad joined the CPI(M) in 1981.
A graduate in Bachelor of Oriental Languages from Andhra Saraswatha Parishad and with a master’s degree in history, Purushotham worked as a headmaster for a private school in Addagutta. While working there, he came in contact with Malloujla Koteshwar Rao alias Kishenji and KG Satyamurthy, both top cadre, and joined the movement .
The next year, he married Vinodhini, who was also a teacher at a private school and she also joined her husband in the Naxal movement.
Purushotham worked as a City Committee Member for Hyderabad, and later became City Committee Secretary and worked from 1981 to 1986, but continued to be the headmaster of the school.
His wife also continued to work as a teacher as a cover job and assisted in recruitment. They went underground in 1986 and lived in Krishnanagar Colony.
Addressing the media, Mr Anjani Kumarsaid “The couple recruited approximately 60 cadre and sent them to forest areas for training. They worked in Vishakhapatnam on transfer from the city and lived there for 10 years till 1996. They chose to teach as a profession for cover.”
He said that the couple was arrested by the erstwhile AP police in 1991 at Vishakhapatnam along with two others, but were released after the kidnap of Congress party youth secretary P. Sudheer Kumar.
