Hyderabad/Raipur, Sept. 10 -- Sixty-year-old Thippiri Tirupati alias Devji who took over as the new general secretary of the party, in place of Nambala Kesava Rao alias Basvaraj, who was killed in a fierce encounter with security forces in Narayanpur forests of Chhattisgarh on May 21, is the third successive Telugu leader who rose to the top position, officials familiar with the development said.

HT was the first to break the report on Monday, quoting intelligence sources, that Devji, a key central committee member of the CPI (Maoist) was appointed as the new secretary of the outfit. Another central committee member Mandvi Hidma was made secretary of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), one of the most powerful decision-maki...