Telangana: 20 maoists arrested in Mulugu; cache of arms, grenades seized

Recovered weapons include INSAS, SLR, and .303 rifles, grenades, and ammunition. The Maoists, linked to violent incidents, had planted IEDs and warned villagers away from the forest.

In a major breakthrough, police in Telangana's Mulugu district arrested as many as 20 members of the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit and seized a cache of arms and ammunition, officials said on Saturday. The arrests were made during intensive search operations, vehicle checks, and patrolling exercises conducted between May 16 and 17 in areas under Venkatapuram, Wazeedu, and Kannaigudem police stations.

Among those arrested are one division committee member and five area committee members of the banned outfit, according to a statement by Mulugu Superintendent of Police Shabarish P.

The crackdown follows intelligence inputs that Maoist cadres, previously taking refuge in the Karregutta hills along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, were fleeing the area in small groups after coordinated operations by the CRPF and Chhattisgarh police forced them to disperse.

Acting swiftly, Telangana police enhanced surveillance and managed to intercept and arrest the fleeing Maoists. The arrested individuals are allegedly involved in a string of violent incidents across Telangana and Chhattisgarh, including ambushes and killings of police and CRPF personnel, as well as executing civilians suspected of being police informers.

The police recovered a substantial weapons cache from the arrested Maoists, including three 5.56 mm INSAS rifles, four 7.62 mm SLR rifles, one .303 rifle, four 8 mm rifles, two live grenades, and several magazines.

Investigations revealed that the Maoists had planted IEDs across the Karregutta forest region—spanning police jurisdictions in both Telangana (Mulugu district) and Chhattisgarh (Bijapur district)—in an attempt to block security forces and establish a fortified guerrilla zone. The group had also issued warnings to Adivasi villagers and locals on April 8, cautioning them against entering the forest area.

The arrests come in the wake of Operation 'Black Forest'—a 21-day-long coordinated offensive by security forces along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border that concluded on May 11. The operation led to the killing of 31 Maoists, including 16 women, and the seizure of approximately 450 IEDs, two tonnes of explosives, and numerous rifles and ammunition. Security forces described the offensive as a major blow to Maoist dominance in the region.