‘Disillusioned’ Maoist couple surrenders due to ill health

HYDERABAD: A Maoist couple, who spent close to four decades working for the banned organisation, surrendered before the police due to ill health and ‘disillusionment’ with the party ideology.
Koti Purushotham alias Ashok, 68, a Regional Committee member and Agitation Propaganda Committee (APC) printing and publishing unit in-charge, of the Maoist party and his wife Koti Vinodini alias Vijaya Laxmi, 63, of the Dalam Commander rank and currently member of APC printing and publishing unit, surrendered before police commissioner Anjani Kumar.The police chief gave a detailed background of the couple at a press conference in his office at Basheerbagh.
Purushotham, who did his Bachelor of Oriental Languages from an OU-affiliated institute, Andhra Saraswatha Parishad in Nallakunta in 1974, did his MA (history) in 1987 from an Open University. He worked as a headmaster in Ambedkar Vidyaniketan Upper Primary School at Addagutta in 1981 and during this time, he came in contact with top Maoist leaders, Kishan ji and KG Satyamurthy. The same year he joined the party and in 1982, married Vinodini, who was also working as a teacher at Addagutta.
“After that, the couple went underground and started staying at Krishna Nagar. Purushotham worked as the City Committee member and secretary in Hyderabad from 1981 to 1986. During this time, they recruited about 60 people and sent them to forests for training,” Anjani Kumar said.
Later, the party transferred the couple to Visakhapatnam, where Purushotham worked as the Vizag city secretary from 1986 to 1996.
“From 2005 to 2014, the party directed him to stay in Chennai under the guidance of Akkiraju Hara Gopal alias RK, a Central Committee member. But, he was not given any responsibility. He was in contact with only Hara Gopal through a letter of correspondence for the last 13 years. In 2014, the couple shifted to Hyderabad,” he said.
While Purushotham worked only in urban areas, his wife worked in Prakasam dalam of Nallamalla for one year in 1991 and later in Anantagiri dalam at AOB and in Uddanam, Srikakulam, upto 1996. From 1996, Vinodini worked with her husband due to ill health.