6 months ago
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HYDERABAD/NAGPUR: When Mallojula Venugopal Rao joined the authorities nationalist relations section successful undivided Andhra Pradesh’s Adilabad arsenic an apprentice aft graduation, helium could not person imagined spending 35 years of his beingness arsenic a Maoist outlaw.On Tuesday, arsenic India’s five-decade conflict against Left-wing extremism turned different corner, Venugopal — known by aliases Bhupathi, Sonu, Vivek and Abhay — became the look of what officials termed the dismantling of Maharashtra’s Maoist citadel.Bhupathi, who surrendered to Gadchiroli constabulary with 61 different PLGA guerrillas, had 1 of the longest uninterrupted stints underground successful the Maoist insurgency until fatigue from warring a losing conflict caught up with him.
Six months ago, the antheral with a bounty of Rs 60 lakhsignalled his tendency for a ceasefire.
Born into a Brahmin household connected May 10, 1956, successful Telangana’s Peddapalli, Bhupathi was pursuing a commerce grade erstwhile helium was drawn to the Radical Students’ Union and People’s War Group, some breeding grounds for Left ideology successful undivided Andhra Pradesh.His elder brother, Mallojula Koteshwar Rao, amended known arsenic Kishenji, went connected to go 1 of India’s most-wanted Maoist commanders earlier being killed successful Bengal successful 2011.
Bhupathi initially tried settling into a regular vocation earlier pursuing his sibling’s way — 1 that took him to the Maoist cardinal committee. He aboriginal roseate to go a politburo member, cardinal determination bureau secretary, and the CPI (Maoist)’s governmental chief.Operating retired of Gadchiroli and Maad (Abujhmad) successful Chhattisgarh, Bhupathi’s relation evolved from tract operations to ideological command. After Maoist spokesperson Cherukuri Rajkumar (Azad) was killed successful 2010, helium became the insurgency’s main voice.
“As authoritative spokesperson, helium utilized the alias Abhay and issued statements regularly, though his power ran acold deeper,” a elder Telangana SIB serviceman told TOI.
“He shaped ideological discourse, guided propaganda, and oversaw the janatana sarkar — the Maoists’ parallel governance strategy successful Dandakaranya.”Bhupathi was instrumental successful moving these alleged “people’s governments” successful distant wood regions, blending governmental oversight with guerrilla control, making him CPI (Maoist)’s governmental brain.While heading PLGA’s cardinal subject commission, helium upgraded guerrilla warfare manuals. He is accused of masterminding the 2011 Chintalnar massacre successful which 76 CRPF men were killed, and of creating a rebel basal wrong the Indravati National Park.After the decease of wide caput Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, successful May 2025, Bhupathi was seen arsenic a earthy successor. But by then, the question was successful diminution — respective elder functionaries were dormant oregon captured, operations had intensified successful Bastar and Gadchiroli, and cadre morale had collapsed.In interior communications aboriginal seized, Bhupathi admitted that Maoist question was facing an “existential crisis,” blaming enactment failures & urging cadres to “rethink equipped struggle.” The cardinal committee branded him a traitor and ordered him to surrender his weapons. Officials said the unit helium faced earlier surrendering exposed deepening rifts wrong the hierarchy. In a uncommon development, the Maad part (North Bastar) — erstwhile a Maoist stronghold — publically backed his telephone to laic down arms, signalling an unprecedented rupture and the erosion of bid and condemnation wrong the organisation.
