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In a joint operation, Telangana and Maharashtra police arrested Maoist area committee member Oyam Bhoodu and his wife Podium Raame at Kothagudem bus stand. Wanted in over 150 cases, the couple was nabbed during intensified anti-Maoist combing operations across states

Kothagudem: In a major operation, Kothagudem One-Town police, in coordination with special party police and Maharashtra police, nabbed two Maoists here on Monday.

CPI (Maoist) Party area committee member of Gadchiroli division’s 10th company, Oyam Bhoodu alias Lokesh alias Madhan, along with his wife and party member Podium Raame alias Shilpa, were arrested during vehicle checks at Kothagudem bus stand, Superintendent of Police B Rohith Raju said.

Bhoodu was associated with the Maoist party since 2009 and was promoted as ACM in 2014. He was involved in killing several police personnel and played a key role in numerous violent attacks against security forces. As many as 90 cases were registered against him in Maharashtra, police said.

Raame joined the Maoist outfit in 2018 and was active in the South Gadchiroli division. She married Bhoodu in March 2024 and was accused in 67 criminal cases, Rohith Raju said.

Due to intensified combing and search operations by police forces in Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, several Maoists have fled their base camps and were attempting to regroup in smaller groups across state borders.

These arrests were part of a larger strategy to prevent the entry and movement of banned CPI (Maoist) members within Telangana, particularly in Kothagudem district. The district police have strengthened surveillance and intelligence networks to ensure that Maoist cadres are identified and neutralised quickly, the SP said.

He appealed to underground Maoist cadres and leaders to surrender by taking advantage of the surrender and rehabilitation policy offered by the Telangana government to live a peaceful life. The public should not support Maoists in any way, he added.