Mumbai, Oct. 14 -- Top Naxal leader Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Sonu, a senior leader of the CPI (Maoist) and a member of its Politburo, laid down arms today along with 60 Maoist cadres in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, sources in the Director General of Police office in Mumbai said.
Sonu, a native of Telangana, had last week issued a letter addressed to the media, expressing his desire to surrender.
He also resigned from the party and urged fellow cadres to "save themselves" and avoid making "meaningless sacrifices," revealing growing divisions within the Maoist ranks over continuing the armed struggle versus joining the mainstream.
The surrender of the veteran leader, who had operated across central India for decades, marks a si...