The surrender of Rao, who carried a bounty of about Rs six crore, is seen as a major blow to left-wing extremism in the country.
Mumbai:In a major breakthrough in the battle against Naxal activities, senior Communist Party of India (Maoist) leader and Politburo member Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu alias Bhupathi, along with 60 other Naxalites, laid down arms and surrendered before Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday at the Gadchiroli district police headquarters —
The surrender of Rao, who carried a bounty of about Rs six crore, is seen as a major blow to left-wing extremism in the country. He was considered one of the most influential strategists in the Maoist organisation and had long supervised platoon operations along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border. He is suspected of being one of the masterminds behind the April 2010 Dantewada attack in Chhattisgarh, in which at least 76 CRPF personnel were killed.
The Maoists turned themselves in before the police late Monday night and formally surrendered before the CM on Wednesday, said police sources. They include two Maoist state zonal committee members, 10 divisional committee members and cadres from Maharashtra as well as Chhattisgarh. They handed over 54 weapons, including seven AK-47s, six self-loading rifles (SLRs) and six INSAS rifles.
A few months ago, Rao’s wife Vimala Sidam alias Tarakka, who was also a Maoist leader, had surrendered to the police. He also had his elder brother Mallojula Koteshwar Rao, alias Kishanji, killed in an encounter in West Bengal in 2011.
The surrender of Rao and 60 other cadres is the ‘beginning of the end of the Naxal movement’ in Maharashtra, CM Fadnavis said. He handed over a copy of the Constitution to the surrendered Maoists and said that the surrender could happen because of the confidence of the Maoists in the government.
In the coming days, the entire ‘red corridor’ in Chhattisgarh, Telangana will be free of Naxalism, Fadnavis said, adding he was proud that Gadchiroli in Maharashtra was leading the fight against the outlawed CPI (Maoist).
“The spinal cord of Maoism is now broken. The battle against Maoism is in its last stage now. We believe that other cadres in Chhattisgarh will also surrender in the coming days. The next challenge is that of urban Naxalism,” CM said, announcing an award of Rs one crore for the Gadchiroli police and C60 commandos.
Naxalites should know that they have lost the ideological war, and equality and justice can be achieved only by joining the mainstream and adhering to the Indian Constitution, Fadnavis said.
The development comes amid sustained anti-Maoist operations spearheaded by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and various state governments. In September, Venugopal Rao had expressed his willingness to surrender, reportedly garnering support from a substantial number of Maoist cadres in Chhattisgarh and other regions across India.
The police sources said the surrender of 61 Maoists is a major victory for security forces and a significant step towards eliminating Maoist influence in line with Amit Shah’s statement that ‘Naxalism’ (Left Wing Extremism) would be completely eradicated by 2026.
