Intelligence sources have said that Rao employed strong military tactics in the form of
guerrilla warfare and used new forms of
improvised explosive devices (IEDs). He was not only aggressive in on-field strategy but strongly committed to
Marxism–Leninism–Maoism ideology. He was involved with the
Naxalite movement since the 1970s. When the CPI (ML) Peoples War was formed in 1980 in Andhra Pradesh, he was one of the key organisers. He was the first commander to enter East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts. Rao along with
Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishanji,
Mallujola Venugopal and Malla Raji Reddy received training in the forests of
Bastar from a group of former fighters of the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in ambush tactics and the handling of Gelatin in 1987. In 1992, he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the erstwhile
Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War. In 2004, when the
Communist Party of India (Maoist) was formed through the merger of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War and
Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), Rao was made the head of the Central Military Commission of the party as well as Politburo member having strength of his expertise in military tactics and use of explosives, especially the use of IEDs.
National Investigation Agency announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for Rao. He was also popular in the name of
Prakash alias Krishna alias Darapu Narasimha Reddy. On 10 November 2018, Rao replaced
Ganapathy as the new General Secretary of CPI (Maoist).
Involvement in terrorist attacks 2010-2012 Rao was suspected of being behind almost all the major Maoist attacks that took place in
Chhattisgarh,
Maharashtra and
Odisha while he was alive. According to police sources the killing of a
Telugu Desam Party leader Kidari Saraveshwar Rao at
Araku in Andhra Pradesh is attributed to him. A senior security official said that Rao
alias Basavaraju had been at the forefront in the
2010 Maoist attack in Dantewada in which 76
CRPF soldiers were killed, the Jeeram Ghati attack in which 27 people, including former state minister
Mahendra Karma 2013-2025 Rao is believed to have been involved in some major terrorist attacks including 2013 Latehar Ambush,
2018 Sukma IED Attack,
2019 Gadchiroli Landmine Blast,
2021 Sukma-Bijapur Ambush,
2023 Dantewada IED blast, and
2025 Bijapur IED attack. •
2018 Sukma IED Attack: Maoists carried out an improvised explosive device (IED) attack on a mine-protected vehicle transporting CRPF personnel in
Chhattisgarh's
Sukma district, resulting in the deaths of nine troops and injuries to six others, according to Indian sources. •
2021 Sukma-Bijapur Ambush: During an anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh, security forces were ambushed, leading to an intense and prolonged firefight. According to Indian sources, 22 personnel were killed and 32 others injured. •
2023 Dantewada IED blast: An improvised explosive device (IED) targeted a vehicle returning from an anti-Maoist operation at Chhattisgarh's
Dantewada district, killing 10
District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel and a civilian driver. •
2025 Bijapur IED attack: A powerful IED blast struck a vehicle returning from an anti-Maoist operation at Chhattisgarh's
Bijapur district, resulting in the deaths of eight District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel and a civilian driver. ==Death==