HYDERABAD: The Telangana police have arrested Sanjoy Deepak Rao, a central committee (CC) member of the Communist Party of India (Maoists), who carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh.

He was picked up from the city’s Malaysian Township in Kukatpally.Telangana DGP Anjani Kumar said Rao was in the city to meet his college friends, Ranjith Shankaran, a professor in private university, and B Ajith Kumar, a film editor.

“Based on inputs gathered by the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB), he was intercepted by the police,” the DGP said.

The top cop, however, refused to say if Rao’s friends would be booked for sheltering him.

“Rao was nabbed on Friday morning and we need more time to get all the information,” Kumar said.

“Depending on the investigation details, action will be taken.”The police seized a revolver with six live rounds, a laptop and Rs 47,250 cash from Rao.

Officials claimed that he was on his way to the Maad area in Chhattisgarh to meet top leaders of the Maoist party when he was intercepted..Rao, a former student of Regional Engineering College, Jammu - Kashmir, was in charge of the Western Ghats for the banned outfit.

He is on the wanted list in Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Calling the arrest a blow to the activities of the CPI Maoists, Kumar said that Telangana was no longer a recruitment ground for the group.Asked if Rao’s wife, Saraswathi, was also in their custody, the DGP said they had surveillance on her.

He added that Rao was attracted to left wing ideology as his father was a trade union leader.

In 1983, he joined the regional engineering college and supported the separatist movement in Kashmir.

After completing his studies, he left Jammu and Kashmir and worked for CPI ML CRC group and the CPI ML Rawoof group.

In 1999, he along with Konath Muralidharan, formed the CPI ML Naxalbari group and was made in-charge of Maharashtra.

In 2009, the group decided to merge the outfit into the CPI Maoists.

Both Rao and Muralidharan were made CC members.

Rao was in constant touch with the CPI Maoist leadership and met them often in the last few years, Kumar said.We also published the following articles recentlyNIA conducts raids across CG in CPI (Maoist) caseThe National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids in Telangana and Chhattisgarh related to a case involving the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

The raids were conducted in connection with the recovery of explosive materials, drones, and a Lathe machine.

The NIA had registered the case after the seizure of these items in June.

The raids led to the seizure of digital devices and incriminating documents, and the investigation is ongoing to uncover the accused's involvement in supporting the Maoist organization.

The Maoists have been using modern tools and technology for their activities.Top Maoist held in citySanjay Deepak Rao, a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), was reportedly arrested by Telangana police in Hyderabad.

Rao, who is the chief of the Western Ghats Special Zonal committee, has multiple pending cases against him in different states.

The police were tight-lipped about the arrest.

This comes after the National Investigation Agency conducted raids in Telangana and Chhattisgarh related to a case involving the banned CPI (Maoist), where explosive materials and other items were seized.

In another news, top officials of Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation visited Ludhiana to address issues faced by industries.CPI backs Naidu, to hold all-party meet in Vij todayThe CPI state secretary, Ramakrishna, has accused Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of practicing revenge politics in Andhra Pradesh.

He criticized the arrest of opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu and called for an all-party meeting in solidarity with Naidu.

Ramakrishna questioned why Naidu had not been summoned for questioning earlier and criticized the CID for acting like a private army of the CM.

Senior TDP leader Kanna Lakshminarayana also condemned the government's policy of targeting those who oppose it and predicted that the people would express their anger in the upcoming elections.