61 Maoists, including top leader Bhupati, surrender in Maharashtra

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, 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.