Tech lapses led to Maoist leadership losses, says Chandranna, denies links with Pak’s ISI or China

Hyderabad: A movement that once defined itself as an ideological opponent of modern capitalism was ultimately undone by the very consumer technologies it came to depend on. According to surrendered CPI (Maoist) central committee member Pulluri Prasad Rao alias Chandranna, mobile phones and tablets used by senior leaders for communication, reading and learning became the party's Achilles' heel, allowing state agencies to track, tap and eventually eliminate its top leadership.In an interaction with TOI in Telangana, Chandranna said the organisation's failure to enforce strict electronic discipline proved fatal."Despite having an internal manual on checking devices for trackers, he said, several leaders continued to use gadgets that compromised security and they were tracked," he said, adding that while some trackers were detected, others escaped scrutiny.Chandranna attributed a series of leadership losses to strategic lapses and carelessness, particularly the continued use of mobile phones. Naming leaders such as Patel Sudhakar Reddy and others, he said they failed to strictly adhere to the security protocols laid down by the party. Chandranna said he personally attempted to reduce risk by avoiding calls from fixed locations and by moving away from strategic spots while using phones, citing both signal issues and security concerns.Describing how the central committee operated in the Dandakaranya forests, Chandranna said the organisation had no fixed headquarters or base village. Instead, it functioned as a constantly moving structure, with leadership shifting locations across forest zones. Weapons and literature, he said, were stored in dumps, while the operational space of the central committee travelled with its leaders – "the entire forest in Maad" effectively serving as the command area wherever they moved.Leaders stayed at locations for varying durations – sometimes a month, sometimes 15 days or even five – before relocating, Chandranna said, adding that he mostly travelled on foot.He also spoke about the role of specialised forces, describing the Greyhounds as the "most feared force" for Maoists. He said the model was later adopted by police units in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, and after Telangana, Chhattisgarh emerged as a major focus area.Chandranna said the party never succeeded in developing its own weapons, despite efforts by Sadhanala Ramakrishna, whom he described as an engineer and a gold medallist from Osmania University. Instead, the organisation relied on seizing weapons from the "enemy" and using them, a strategy he said contributed to operational success.He also said unarmed policemen who surrendered were never killed.Referring to training, Chandranna said: "In 1987, the party received one to two weeks of instruction on weapon handling from the LTTE at a camp in Bastar."On allegations of child recruitment, Chandranna said the outfit officially opposed the practice and enforced a minimum age of 16 years. In isolated cases where minors entered the ranks, he claimed they were sent back."Sixteen years and above was the minimum age. We never recruited child soldiers," he said, adding that the party did not maintain an urban guerrilla presence.Chandranna also categorically denied any links with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence or global terror networks, and rejected claims of Chinese influence. He said the party would never support China, alleging that the country was, in reality, "pursuing capitalism," despite invoking Mao Zedong, the Chinese revolutionary leader.