Laxmi, once a dreaded Maoist leader, has left behind her violent past and taken up farming in her native village.
Known as Podiam Laxmi, she commanded fear across Andhra Pradesh’s Kothagudem and Alluri Sitaramaraju regions, where she served as a divisional committee member of the Maoist organisation.
Armed with an AK‑47, she operated in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. The government had announced a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on her head. Her life changed after her husband was killed in a police operation in Karegutta forest. Continuous police offensives and the deaths of senior Maoist leaders pushed her to reconsider her path.
In January this year, Laxmi surrendered before the Telangana DGP. She admitted that jungle life had become unsustainable and that she had witnessed death too closely. After surrender, she returned home to Rallapuram village in Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
Today, Laxmi works to become self‑reliant. She collects forest produce to sell in markets and cultivates crops on her small plot of land. The same hands that once held an AK‑47 now hold a plough. She acknowledges her past mistakes, saying she strayed from the right path. She plans to use rehabilitation funds to start a small business.
Her family, including her mother and brother, support her efforts to rebuild life. Laxmi says she no longer wants to depend on anyone and strives to live with dignity. Her story reflects resilience, transformation, and the possibility of change.
