Setting aside the path of guns, surrendered Maoist Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupathi has taken up the role of a coordinator for a university programme in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli to handle administrative work linked to tribal villagers' rights, officials said on Tuesday.

Once a feared Naxal commander, Bhupathi, who laid down his arms last year, will devote his efforts to securing legal rights for tribal communities in areas he once viewed from a very different lens.