Hyderabad, May 26: In a significant blow to the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation, senior Maoist leader Pasunoori Narahari, also known as Vishwanath and Salai Da, along with his wife Medara Danamma alias Latha, Poonam and Joba, surrendered before Telangana Director General of Police C.V. Anand in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Narahari, a Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist) and secretary of the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee, was considered one of the key figures in the outfit’s last surviving Eastern Regional Bureau.

A native of Somidi village in Telangana’s Hanumakonda district, the 64-year-old joined the Maoist movement in 1982 after being influenced by the activities of the Radical Students Union and senior Maoist leader Puli Anjaiah. He later became actively involved in CPI (ML) People’s War operations in the Sukma region of Chhattisgarh.

During his more than four decades in the underground movement, Narahari handled several crucial responsibilities within the Maoist organisation. He worked extensively in technical and arms units and served in the South Bastar and Nagpur technical teams before rising to become secretary of the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee. In 2017, he was elevated to the Central Committee.

According to police, Narahari possessed specialised expertise in manufacturing and maintaining firearms, rockets, grenades, mortars and booby traps. He was also involved in training Maoist cadres in weapons production and technical operations.