HYDERABAD: Top Maoist commander Thippiri Tirupati alias Devji from Telangana has been appointed as the new general secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist) party, police sources said on Wednesday.

The elevation of Devji follows the death of the previous general secretary, Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, who was killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh on May 21.

The decision to appoint Devji, in his 60s, as the new general secretary of the outfit was taken at a recent meeting in Bastar, they said.

"It (there was a meeting) appears so... and a decision was taken. It is all tactics and strategies with which they (Maoists) choose (their leader)," a senior Telangana police official told PTI.

The official described Devji, who hails from Jagtial district of Telangana, as a key strategist.

According to reports, Devji, carrying Rs 1 crore on his head, created the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), and went on to become a key Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist) and the politburo member of the Maoist party.

The reports further said he plotted several Maoist attacks and played a key role in the April 2010 Dantewada ambush that killed 74 CRPF personnel.