In a video message released by the Gadchiroli police on Saturday, Bhupathi urged Maoist cadres to give up violence, describing the armed movement as a 'failed path'
Active Maoists must give up violence, surrender, and work among the people, Bhupathi said in a video message. Pic/videograb
Top former Naxalite leader Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupathi, who surrendered to the Gadchiroli Police in Maharashtra on October 14, has appealed to his former comrades to abandon the path of armed struggle and join the mainstream to work for the people.
In a video message released by the Gadchiroli police on Saturday, Bhupathi urged Maoist cadres to give up violence, describing the armed movement as a “failed path”.
He also shared his and his surrendered comrade Rupesh’s mobile numbers for those wishing to quit the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist).
Bhupathi, who earlier held multiple senior positions in the organisation, including Polit Bureau and Central Committee member, Secretary of the Central Regional Bureau, and party spokesperson, said that the Maoist struggle for power and land had alienated them from the very people they claimed to represent.
"Active Maoists must give up violence, surrender, and work among the people,” he said in a video message.
He further said that the Central Committee’s rigid adherence to armed struggle despite changing realities showed its failure to evolve.
Bhupathi dismissed accusations of betrayal, saying that those calling him and other surrendered Naxalites “gaddar” (traitors) were spreading misinformation.
Bhupathi referred to Rupesh, another Central Committee member who surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur on October 17 along with over 200 cadres in what officials described as the state’s largest-ever mass surrender.
"Rupesh has already explained in detail why it is necessary to surrender, so I will not elaborate further," Bhupathi said in the video.
Appealing for support, he said, "I request all intellectuals, democracy lovers, and well-wishers of tribal communities to understand and support our decision. Those who wish to lay down arms and work among the people can contact me or Rupesh directly."
Bhupathi, a founding member of the banned People’s War Group, played a key role in expanding the Maoist movement across the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border.
During his surrender last month, he and 60 cadres handed over 54 weapons, including seven AK-47s and nine INSAS rifles.
Following his surrender Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that Bhupathi's surrender and 60 other cadres was the "beginning of the end of the Naxal movement."
Bhupathi was carrying a bounty of Rs 6 crore and raised the Naxal movement at Aheri and Sironcha in Gadchiroli.
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