As ‘last of Karnataka’s armed Naxals’ surrender, fresh acquittal for top leader and wife who laid down arms in 2021

This is the 10th acquittal for Krishnamurthy, 50, following his surrender and arrest before Kerala Police in November 2021 while it is the fourth acquittal for Hosagadde, 30, since she surrendered before the Tamil Nadu Police in December 2021. While Krishnamurthy has over 10 remaining cases in Karnataka, Hosagadde has nearly 16.

Krishnamurthy alias Gangadhar alias Che, a lawyer by profession, was the highest-ranking Naxal leader before his surrender. He had surrendered in Kerala’s Wayanad along with Savitri alias Rajitha, the commander of the Kabani dalam of the Naxals. Savitri was the ex-wife of another Naxal leader Vikram Gowda who had taken over from Krishnamurthy in 2021 and was killed in a police encounter in November 2024 in Karnataka.

Following the death of Gowda — who was opposed to surrendering — four of the remaining armed Naxals from Karnataka surrendered before Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on January 8 this year along with two others from Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Hosagadde, who was rumored to be dead in 2010, surfaced soon after her husband Krishnamurthy’s surrender. She surrendered at Tirupattur in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore.

“Accused No.2, Sri B G Krishnamurthy @ Vijay @ Bhagath @ Sumanth @ Kumara @ Bhaskara, and accused No.5, Ms Prabha @ Hosagadde Prabha @ Sandhya @ Netra @ Madhu, are found not guilty of any of the charges alleged against them,” the special court ruled on Friday.

The duo were accused of criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation and assault under the Indian Penal Code and under the Arms Act, 1959, for terrorism under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, and the Karnataka Prevention of Destruction and Loss of Property Act, 1981.

During the peak of the Naxalite movement in Karnataka in 2005, Naxals attacked the Thanikodu forest check post in Kudremukh National Park which restricted the movement of tribals residing in the forest. The Naxals caused a blast at the check post and threatened guards against manning the check post.

In the cases in which Krishnamurthy and Hosagadde have been acquitted so far, the trial court has found insufficient evidence or witnesses to prove the cases against them.

The couple were produced in the court in Bengaluru via video conferencing as Krishnamurthy is being held in a Kerala prison and Hosagadde in a remand home in Tamil Nadu.

Krishnamurthy was the secretary of the Western Ghats Special Zonal Committee of the Maoist group. He was also part of their central committee and assumed a leadership role in South India after the encounter death of Kuppu Devaraj in 2016 in Kerala. He assumed the leadership of Naxals in Karnataka after the killing of Saket Rajan in 2005.

6 surrendered Naxals to stand trial
Meanwhile, the special court for terrorism cases on Thursday remanded the six Naxals who surrendered on January 8 to two weeks’ judicial custody in connection with a case registered last year in Chikamagalur’s Jayapura police station.

They have been identified as Mundagaru Latha, 45, Sundari Kuthlur, 40, Vanajakshi Balehole, 55, Marappa Aroli alias Jayanna, 49, Jisha, 34, and Ramesh alias Vasanth, 38. Mundgaru Latha was considered the leader of the Naxal group in Karnataka after Vikram Gowda’s death in an encounter on November 19, 2024 in Dakshina Kannada’s Hebri.

Latha, Sundari, Vanajakshi and Marappa hail from different parts of Karnataka while Jisha is from Kerala and Vasanth from Tamil Nadu. Latha reportedly has 85 cases against her, while Sundari has 71, Balehole 29, Aroli 50, Jisha 17 and Vasanth eight cases. In many of the cases in which Latha is accused, she was part of Naxal units headed by B G Krishnamurthy or Vikram Gowda.

The case in which they were arrested was registered by the Jayapura police a week before the encounter death of Gowda. According to the case filed by an official of the state Anti-Naxal Force, some armed members of the CPI (Maoist) visited villages in Chikamagalur on November 10, 2024.

They allegedly went to a house in Kadegundi village with guns and ammunition on November 10, 2024, to seek supplies. The locals identified two of them as Jayanna alias John and Mundagaru Lata.

Karnataka police officials said the surrender of the last of the armed Naxals in the state will not result in the disbanding of its Anti-Naxal Force (ANF). “The Karnataka ANF will remain active to ensure no new persons or groups occupy the vacuum,” a senior police official said.

Following their surrender, the Naxals will now stand trial and their fates will be decided by the courts on the basis evidence found in each of the hundreds of cases registered in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka over the last 25 years.