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Raipur: In another significant achievement for police and security forces, as many as 51 Maoists carrying a cumulative reward of Rs 66 lakhs turned themselves before the authorities and surrendered in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division on Wednesday of last week.
The development follows a string of surrender by former cadres of the proscribed CPI (Maoist) with more than 300 Naxals active in Abujhmad and other pockets of Bastar laying down arms and announcing their re-integration with the mainstream of society.
This marks a significant moment in the ongoing campaign of security forces against Mao’s men which aims to eliminate the red terror menace from Bharat by March next year, as announced by the Union Government.
Significantly, security forces tasted a major success in their ongoing efforts to set free the insurgency-hit regions of Chhattisgarh and other adjoining areas, when politburo member of CPI (Maoist), Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupati alias Abhay surrendered before Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on October 15.
Rao who was considered to be a key man and featured in the top brass of the outlawed group surrendered with another 60 hardcore ultras in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra bordering Abujhmad of Chhattisgarh.
Bhupati surrender marked a major blow to the outlawed group which has already suffered huge setbacks with the hands of forces in Abujhmad and other pockets of Bastar once identified as an impregnable stronghold of Maoists.
Who is Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupati alias Abhay
Born into a Brahmin family in Karimnagar district of Telangana, 69-years-old Bhupati aka Sonu Dada is the younger brother of Mallojula Koteshwara Rao, also known as Kishenji, who was a powerful figure in the Maoist organisation before being killed in an encounter in 2011.
As per reports, Bhupati got attracted by the Radical Students Union during his college days and eventually joined the Maoist’s movement after a short tenure as an employee with the state government.
During his over four decades of association with the Naxal outfit, Bhupati largely operated in Anujhmad of Chhattisgarh and adjoining regions of Gadchiroli of Maharashtra.
He was appointed head of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of the CPI (Maoist) and tasked with extending the group’s footprints into Western Ghats. The politburo member in the later part largely functioned as the ideological pillar of the group, donning the role of the spokesperson of the central committee.
While issuing statements, Bhupati used the alias Abhay. He reportedly shaped ideological discourse and created policies for messaging and outreach. He also created a base inside the Indravati National Park in Chhattisgarh.
Bhupati also reportedly served as the head of the powerful central military commission, and was considered the man behind for launching several attacks resulting in death of security personnel and civilians. He has been also reportedly charged with orchestrating the 2011 Chintalnar massacre in the Dantewada district which claimed the lives of 76 security personnel.
Before giving up arms, Rao released multiple letters addressing the members of the group and the government for negotiation, attracting critical responses from the other faction of the Maoist leaders who were against laying down arms.
The government on the other hand responded by reiterating its position that while it is ready to welcome those who are willing to surrender arms and accept the Bharatiya constitution, it will not halt operations against those holding weapons.
String of surrender in month of October
Rao giving up arms in Gadchiroli triggered a wave of surrender in Uttar Bastar region with over 200 Maoists announcing their return in presence of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai in Jagdalpur on October 17.
The surrender included several battle-hardened Maoists who were later seen holding the constitution of Bharat.
This was followed by surrender of 21 Maoists on October 26 and another group of 51 Naxals on October 29 in Bijapur district.
Only 11 districts remain affected by red terror, only 3 severely hit
It is to be noted that only 11 districts in Bharat stands affected by Maoist terror at present in comparison of 18 districts in April this year, as per a recent release by the Union Government.
The release mentioned that only 3 districts stands severely hit by Maoist-insurgency in comparison to 6 in April 2025. It is worth mentioning here that more than 150 districts in the country were hit by red terror before 2014.
Over 8700 surrender since 2014
It must be noted that security forces have achieved commendable success against Maoists in the last one decade with over 8700 extremists laying down arms before officials since May 2014, as per a report by Opindia.
The report which cites figure from Ministry of Home Affairs suggests that around 1800 Naxals have been gunned down in encounters in the aforesaid period while 548 security personnel lost their lives fighting Naxals. The causalities suffered by civilian stands at 1630.
The state of Chhattisgarh leads the tally in both the surrender (6153) and killing of Maoist cadres (1129) in encounter.
Union Home Minister Shah reiterates commitment to eliminate Maoism
Significantly, the Union Home Minister recently reiterated that the government is committed to wipe out armed Maoist-insurgency from the country by March 2026.
“I want to appeal to Maoists, that the doors for you to join the mainstream is open, a lot of people have surrendered. Come lay down weapons and surrender,” he said.
“If you do not surrender, our work policy is to set free the country from Naxalism by March next year,” he added.
While dismissing any sort of talks with those holding guns, Shah emphasised that wherever Naxalism has been ended, the government has carried out development works such as opening providing electricity water and ration.
