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3 min readHyderabadUpdated: Feb 7, 2026 01:13 PM IST
Sources said he spent most of his career as an ambush strategist in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and Abujmarh in Chhattisgarh. (Express Photo)
Maoist leader L Prabhakar Rao, who was killed on Friday in an operation by security forces along the Maharashtra-Telangana border, was a senior leader in the CPI (Maoist) Gadchiroli hierarchy. Known by aliases such as Ravi, Swamy, and Chander, Rao, 53, hailed from Isrojiwadi village in Kamareddy district of Telangana.
He, like many others from Telangana, went underground around 1995 after being active in the Radical Students Union (RSU) for a few months. Until recently, Rao was close to Maoist ideologue Mallojula Venugopal Rao, who surrendered before the Maharashtra Police last October.
Sources said he spent most of his career as an ambush strategist in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and Abujmarh in Chhattisgarh. He used to lead ambushes against security forces, and quickly rose through the ranks.
He was the head of the West Sub-Zonal Bureau of the Gadhchiroli Division Committee and the feared armed unit ‘Company 10’. He was also associated with the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA). He is accused of leading dozens of ambushes on security personnel in the Gadchiroli region in recent years and was carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh. Officers who worked in anti-Maoist units say his elimination is a “huge success”.
Sources said Venugopal Rao had convinced Prabhakar Rao to surrender, but the latter decided against it at the last minute, telling him that he wanted to continue the armed struggle. Last December, another top Maoist leader from Telangana, Paka Hanumanthu alias Ganesh alias Chamru, was killed in an encounter in Odisha.
Last year, several senior leaders from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were eliminated in operations by security forces, mainly in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Odisha, including former General Secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basvaraj, and Central Committee members Katta Ramachandra Reddy, Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy, Gajarla Ravi, Chalpathi, Sahdev Soren, Balkrishna, Narasimha, and Chalam.
Hundreds of cadres from the two Telugu states have also been eliminated or have surrendered. Another senior Telugu Maoist leader, Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji, also from Telangana and the general secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist), remains on the run, and has refused repeated calls to surrender. Surrounded by relentless operations by security forces, those who still remain underground are holding up in small pockets in Gadchiroli, Dandakaranya, and Bastar.
Sreenivas Janyala is a Deputy Associate Editor at The Indian Express, where he serves as one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political and economic landscape of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. With a career spanning over two decades in mainstream journalism, he provides deep-dive analysis and frontline reporting on the intricate dynamics of South Indian governance. Expertise and Experience Regional Specialization: Based in Hyderabad, Sreenivas has spent more than 20 years documenting the evolution of the Telugu-speaking states. His reporting was foundational during the historic Telangana statehood movement and continues to track the post-bifurcation development of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Key Coverage Beats: His extensive portfolio covers a vast spectrum of critical issues: High-Stakes Politics: Comprehensive tracking of regional powerhouses (BRS, TDP, YSRCP, and Congress), electoral shifts, and the political careers of figures like K. Chandrashekar Rao, Chandrababu Naidu, and Jagan Mohan Reddy. Internal Security & Conflict: Authoritative reporting on Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), the decline of the Maoist movement in former hotbeds, and intelligence-led investigations into regional security modules. Governance & Infrastructure: Detailed analysis of massive irrigation projects (like Kaleshwaram and Polavaram), capital city developments (Amaravati), and the implementation of state welfare schemes. Crisis & Health Reporting: Led the publication's ground-level coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in South India and major industrial incidents, such as the Vizag gas leak. Analytical Depth: Beyond daily news, Sreenivas is known for his "Explained" pieces that demystify complex regional disputes, such as river water sharing and judicial allocations between the sister states. ... Read More
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