31 Maoists Masquerading as Labourers Arrested in Vijayawada and Kakinada

A major security operation in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday led to the arrest of 31 Maoists, including several senior leaders from Chhattisgarh, who had been hiding in plain sight as labourers in Vijayawada and nearby areas.

Police apprehended 27 of them from a four-storey building in New Autonagar, Kanuru, Vijayawada. Most of those arrested were women who had allegedly taken shelter under the guise of migrant workers. The arrests followed an intelligence alert indicating Maoist presence in the region.

Additional Director General (Intelligence) Mahesh Chandra Laddha confirmed that a total of 31 Maoists were arrested across Krishna district, Vijayawada, and Kakinada. With numerous migrant workers from states like Chhattisgarh employed in factories and timber depots around Autonagar, the Maoists had blended in to avoid detection.

Large-scale search operations were launched, though authorities have not yet confirmed whether any arms or explosives were recovered. The searches are believed to be linked to an earlier operation the same day in Alluri Sitharamaraju district near the Andhra–Odisha border, where security forces killed six Maoists, including top commander and CPI(Maoist) Central Committee member Hidma and his wife Raji.

Officials say intensified operations in Chhattisgarh have pushed several Maoists to seek refuge in Andhra Pradesh. ADG Laddha noted that authorities had been monitoring Maoist movements closely for the past month, with some cadres and sympathisers suspected to have moved deeper into the state.

Police are questioning the owner of the Autonagar building and investigating those who may have assisted the Maoists or provided shelter. Authorities are also probing whether the group had plans to carry out attacks.

Officers remarked that such a large arrest of Maoists from an urban area is unprecedented in Andhra Pradesh, even during the peak of Maoist activity.

With inputs from IANS