Jagtial: Former senior Maoist leader Thippiri Tirupati, also known as Devji or Devi Ji, who is now in his early 60s, appeared for the Intermediate supplementary examination at his hometown, Korutla, on Wednesday, resuming his education after a gap of over 45 years.
Deviji wrote the Telugu paper at Maastro Junior College centre after taking special permission from the Telangana State Intermediate Board. Videos of him entering the exam centre wearing a white shirt, with a pad and pen in hand, went viral on social media. Devji sat in the last bench and wrote the exam with other students who were not quite aware of who the senior person was writing the exam along with them.
Speaking to the media, after writing the exam, Deviji said that he had studied Intermediate at Korutla Government Junior College during 1980-82, but boycotted the second-year Telugu exam, so he had come to complete the paper that was pending. He also informed that he had only one paper to write. Inspired by the Maoist ideology, he was an active member of the Student Radical Union. He went underground and was a member of the CPI (Maoist) politburo and its Central Committee as a top-ranking strategist of the CPI. He briefly served as the party’s General Secretary following the death of Nambala Keshava Rao in May 2025.
Devi Ji surrendered to Telangana Police on February 22, 2026, in Mulugu district. He carried a bounty of Rs 1.5-5 crore and surrendered due to ill health. After surrendering, Deviji had stated that he wanted to resume his education, pursue law, and work for the poor.
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