Karimnagar: will go down as a day of distraught in the history of the Maoist party's central leadership as the 60 party leaders and two CC members surrendered together.

CPI (Maoist) Politburo member Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Abhay alias Sonu surrendered before the police in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, according to media reports on Tuesday.

Leaders who do not believe in the basic ideology of the Maoist party have proven that they are ready to give up the gun culture. The way the party leaders left the party and came out with guns to surrender as the ground was crumbling with a series of encounters has shocked revolutionary politics.

'Operation Kagar', which is being conducted by the police and security forces in coordination with state governments across the country, has already taken a serious turn. It is against this backdrop that Venugopal Rao recently made a press statement that he is ready to lay down his arms.

Even after observing the developments that have been happening for a month, cadres in other Maoist-affected areas of the country, including Chhattisgarh, have also supported his decision. In this context, the Maharashtra government has started efforts to show surrender in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. There is a possibility of holding a press conference tomorrow morning or evening to show the surrender of the Maoists.

Venugopal was born in Peddapalli, Karimnagar district of Telangana state. Taking his elder brother Mallojula Koteswara Rao (Kishanji) as an ideal for revolutionary spirit, he joined the Maoist party and played a very important role. On November 24, 2011, Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kisanji was killed in an encounter in Bengal.

In the wake of the subsequent developments, Tarakka, the wife of Maoist commander Venugopal, also surrendered before Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. She is also on the list of most wanted Naxals in the Gadchiroli region.

Venugopal worked in the former Peoples War Group under the names Bhupathi, Sonu, Master and Abhay. Similarly, after joining the Maoist party, he was the head of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee in the Gadchiroli region of Maharashtra. He played a key role in establishing a guerrilla zone on both sides of the Western Ghats in South India, from Goa to Idukki in Kerala.

After the death of Cherukuri Rajkumar (Azad) in the party, he was appointed as the official spokesperson of the CPI (Maoist). He took over the management responsibilities of the publications department in the party. Intelligence sources suspect that Mallojula was behind the death of 76 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) policemen in the April 2010 Dantewada incident.

The Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh police have announced huge rewards on Mallojula. After the death of Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishanji, Venugopal Rao was appointed as the leader of the 'Lalgarh' movement against Operation Green Hunt in West Bengal.