Maoist leader Sanjoy Deepak Rao arrested in Hyderabad: Telangana DGP

HYDERABAD: Telangana Director-General of Police (DGP) Anjani Kumar on Friday said that Sanjoy Deepak Rao (60), secretary of Western Ghat special zone committee was arrested while he was undergoing treatment in Hyderabad. A revolver with six live rounds, a laptop and other articles along with Rs 47,250 were recovered from his possession and he would be produced before a magistrate, he said.

Disclosing the details before the media at his office here, Anjani Kumar said that Sanjoy Deepak Rao came to Hyderabad almost four days ago and was proceeding to Maad, Chhattisgarh to attend a meeting. On reliable inputs by Telangana Intelligence Department, a team of officials from Cyberabad Police apprehended the most wanted Maoist, Sanjoy Deepak Rao, Central Committee Member of CPI(Maoist) near Malaysian Township, Kukatpally, Hyderabad on Friday.

The DGP said that Sanjoy Deepak Rao was a native of Shivgandha Nagar, Thane district in Maharashtra. After the arrest of BG Krishnamurthy, Western Ghats special zonal committee Secretary, in November 2021, Sanjoy Deepak Rao was elected as Secretary of Western Ghats special zonal committee. Since then he was working in Tri Junction, Western Ghats and organizing CPI Maoist activities. Apart from that, he also had meetings with several top naxal leaders like Ganapathi and Paka Hanumanthu during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anjani Kumar said that in January 2023, Sanjoy Deepak Rao had some health issues and left the Western Ghats for urban areas for treatment. In March he recovered and he was planning to go to Maad of Chhattisgarh to attend a meeting and to meet Baswaraj, General Secretary, CPI Maoist, Ganapathi, CCM leaders. Mahindra Tech University professor Ranjith Shankaran and film editor B Ajith Kumar were the college friends of Sanjoy Deepak Rao. He used to visit his friends' houses in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad taking the utmost precautions while moving on party work, he said.

“We will request the magistrate for police custody to interrogate Sanjoy Deepak Rao for gathering more information about his involvement in various unlawful activities, his area of operation and his links with the activists in front and mass organizations in Telangana. Sanjoy Deepak Rao is wanted by the police of Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and NIA. The Maharashtra Government declared Rs 25 lakh reward for the informant leading to his apprehension,” Anjani Kumar said.

The DGP also said that there were no traces of any Maoist movement in Telangana, following the considerable development across the State with establishment of schools, hospitals and other facilities. Sanjoy Deepak Rao’s wife was also nabbed in Karnataka. He was called by Anil and Vikas in Kerala and was arrested by the police twice in the past. Sanjoy Deepak Rao was arrested in Dhule and Bangalore and went to jail. He worked in Maharashtra for a long time and had been participating in Western Ghats activities since 2020 after the death of Maoist leader Manivasagam in the Palakkad encounter in 2019, Anjani Kumar said.