New Delhi: In a notable development, a senior Maoist leader carrying a significant bounty surrender before the police in Telangana, suggest reports floating in the media.
Bandi Prakash, a seasoned Maoist and a member of the Telangana state committee and special zonal committee reportedly surrendered before the police on October 28. He was carrying a bounty of at least Rs 25 lakh on his head.
Prakash a resident of Telangana was associated with the banned Maoist group for over four decades and carries aliases like Prabhat and Kranti.
As per reports, Prakash got involved with the ‘radical students’ union’ as a student and participated in movements carried out by the group. He was also associated with the Singreni committee.
His surrender marks yet another blow to the outlawed group many of whose prominent leaders have laid down arms before officials in recent few days.
Earlier a total of 21 Maoist cadres, including 13 women, surrendered with 18 weapons in the Kanker district on Sunday.
According to officials, those who laid down weapons were part of the Kuemari/Kiskodo area committee of Keshkal division of the outlawed Maoist outfit.
Those who announced their return to the mainstream included of 4 division committee members, 9 area committee members and 8 others.
The group surrendered a total of 18 weapons including AK-47s, SLRs, INSAS, three not three rifles and other.
Sharing the development Union Home Minister Amit Shah in a post on X said “Glad to share that 21 Maoists have surrendered along with their arms in Kanker district, Chhattisgarh. Out of them, 13 were senior cadres. I commend them for joining the mainstream, abjuring violence at the call of the Modi government.”
The Home Minister while appealing Maoists to surrender arms reiterated the government’s commitment to eradicate Naxalism by March next year.
“I reiterate my appeal to the rest who are still wielding guns to surrender at the earliest. We are resolved to eradicate Naxalism by 31st March 2026,” he added.
Glad to share that 21 Maoists have surrendered along with their arms in Kanker district, Chhattisgarh. Out of them, 13 were senior cadres.
I commend them for joining the mainstream, abjuring violence at the call of the Modi government. I reiterate my appeal to the rest who are…
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) October 27, 2025
Significantly, the surrender by the Maoist’s group in Kanker comes almost a week after more than 200 Maoists laid down arms in Jagdalpur of Bastar on October 17.
Notably Maoist’s politburo member Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupati had also surrender before officials with 60 other Naxal cadres in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on October 15. A notable surge in surrender by Naxals was witnessed after the forces amplified operations in Maoist affected areas across states.
Security forces disposed off IED weighing 40kgs
In a related development, security forces on Tuesday disposes off a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district.
#WATCH | Chhattisgarh: A 40 kg IED disposed off by the security forces in Sukma. The IED was planted by naxals with the intention to harm the security forces. Search operation is underway around the spot. No injuries or losses have been reported.
(Video: Sukma Police) pic.twitter.com/SfYEt0T2CC
— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2025
The IED was planted by Naxals with an aim to cause harm to the security personnel. The jawans however successfully recovered and destroyed it on the spot. A search operation is underway in the vicinity of the site.
