In a significant setback to the Maoist insurgency in Maharashtra, 61 Maoists—including Mallojula Venugopal Rao (Bhupati), a senior Central Committee member of the banned CPI (Maoist)—surrendered to state police at Fodewada village, Bhamragad, during the night of October 13–14.
Bhupati Among High-Value Targets
Bhupati, aged 70, is regarded as one of the chief strategists of the extremist movement. The group that laid down arms included two State Zonal Committee members, ten Divisional Committee members, and cadres from Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
The surrender was formalized at Gadchiroli Police Headquarters in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, marking a milestone in the state’s anti-Maoist campaign. Bhupati, also known by aliases such as Sonu, Sonu Dada, Abhay, Master, Vivek, and Venu, had been a high-value target with bounties ranging from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore across Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, reported NDTV.
#WATCH | Gadchiroli, Maharashtra: Naxal Commander Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupati, surrenders in front of CM Devendra Fadnavis at the Gadchiroli Police Police Headquarters. Around 60 Naxalites surrendered today.
Naxal Commander Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupati gave a… pic.twitter.com/stBiJWEJvd
— ANI (@ANI) October 15, 2025
Officials say Bhupati’s surrender deals a decisive blow to Maoist operations in Gadchiroli, a region long plagued by extremist activity. Born into a family of freedom fighters and temple priests in Peddapalli, Venugopal rose through the ranks to lead the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and was tasked with establishing a guerrilla corridor from Goa to Idukki in Kerala, reported The New Indian Express.
Following the death of Cherukuri Raj Kumar (Azad), he became the official spokesperson of the Maoist party and is believed to have played a key role in the 2010 Dantewada ambush, which killed at least 76 CRPF personnel.
Bhupati’s surrender comes weeks after he publicly proposed a ceasefire and sought peace talks with the government. Security forces have intensified operations this year, resulting in significant losses for the Maoist movement, and the surrender signals a weakening of extremist influence in the region.
