Maoist leader Mallojula Venugopal Rao visits home in Peddapalli after 44 years

Former CPI (Maoist) spokesperson Mallojula Venugopal Rao, also known as Bhupathi, visited his native town of Peddapalli after 44 years. He met family members after receiving police permission, months after surrendering before Maharashtra police

Peddapalli: After a gap of 44 years, former Communist Party of India (Maoist) spokesperson Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Bhupathi, visited his native town of Peddapalli on Sunday.

Venugopal Rao, along with his wife Thara, visited his residence in Bharatnagar after obtaining permission from the Maharashtra Police Director General of Police. The senior Maoist leader had surrendered before Maharashtra police in October last year.

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Family members and relatives were surprised to see Venugopal Rao, who could not recognise many of them. He spent time interacting with the sons and grandchildren of his elder brother Anjanna.

The health condition of his brother Anjanna, a former cooperative bank employee, is not good, and Venugopal Rao visited his residence to meet him.

Venugopal Rao, popularly known as Bhupathi, was a Politburo and Central Committee member, secretary of the Central Regional Bureau, and spokesperson of CPI (Maoist) before he laid down arms. A founding member of the banned People’s War Group, who helped spread the Maoist movement across the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border by supervising platoon operations, Bhupathi had formally surrendered along with 60 cadres.