Maoist leader Bhupathi, 60 others surrender in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli

Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Bhupathi, a central committee member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), surrendered in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday.

In addition to Bhupathi, who carried a reward of Rs 6 crore on his head, 60 suspected Maoists also surrendered to security forces.

Among them were two zonal committee members and 10 divisional committee members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). They handed over 54 weapons, including seven Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947 rifles, six Self-Loading Rifles and nine Indian Small Arms System rifles, to the authorities, The Hindu reported.

Those who surrendered received a total reward amount of Rs 5.24 crore and copies of the Constitution “to strengthen faith in democratic values”, the chief minister said.

“I am laying down weapons and will now be part of movements for providing relief for the oppressed in India,” ANI quoted Bhupathi as saying.

He said that since March, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) had been in talks with the government and even submitted a ceasefire proposal in May, but received no official response.

“Instead, they increased the intensity of their attacks,” he alleged.

Bhupathi added that he surrendered in response to a peace appeal by former Communist Party of India (Maoist) General Secretary Basavaraju, who was killed in a gunfight...

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