Key Maoist Leader, Carrying Rs 6 Crore Prize, Surrenders In Maharashtra

One of the most wanted Maoists, who goes by the alias Bhupati and carries a bounty of Rs 6 crore on his head, surrendered before the police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district along with 60 cadres.

In Maharashtra, Bhupati, also known as Sonu Dada, is a top Maoist leader and organiser.

The 69-year-old is considered one of the most influential leaders of the movement. He holds a B.Com degree and has been an active Maoist for the past 40 years.

Earlier this year, Bhupati's wife Tarakka, who was a member of the Dandakaranya special zonal committee also surrendered. Bhupati is believed to be responsible for several major attacks across Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Sources say that within the Maoist organisation, Bhupati had recently flagged the need to shift to peace and dialogue, as public support for the Maoist movement was shrinking, with anti-Naxal operations leading to massive casualties among Maoists.

Police have recovered more than 50 weapons from the surrendered Naxals.

The surrender on Monday night stands as one of the largest in the history of the Maoist insurgency in India. With this development, internal security experts say Maoism is now nearly eradicated from Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, which has seen some of the worst Maoist attacks in the history of the state.

This marks a major success for the Gadchiroli police and the Maharashtra government in their fight against Maoist insurgency, one of the biggest internal security challenges for India.

In April this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked all underground Maoists to surrender as soon as possible and join the mainstream, saying the government is determined to free the country from the scourge of Maoism before March 31, 2026.

"I appeal to the hiding Naxalites to lay down their arms as soon as possible and join the mainstream by adopting the surrender policy of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government," Amit Shah wrote on X, while talking about recent successes against the Maoist insurgency in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh.