Senior CPI (Maoist) Politburo member Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupathi, carrying a ₹6 crore bounty, surrendered before Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Gadchiroli Police Headquarters on October 15, 2025, along with 60 cadres — one of the largest surrenders in Maharashtra's history. Bhupathi, a postgraduate in Commerce from Telangana's Peddapalli district, had preconditioned his surrender on the CM's presence. He requested a one-month ceasefire window for peace talks. CM Fadnavis called it a 'turning point' marking the symbolic end of four decades of Naxalism in Gadchiroli. The surrender is viewed as a severe setback to Maoist ideology.