RAIPUR: A female Maoist commander carrying Rs 5 lakh reward surrendered before police in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Tuesday, January 6.
Bhumika aka Lata aka Somari (37) was an area committee member and commander of the Maoists’ local organisational squad who surrendered before the police, citing frustration with the Maoists’ violent ideology and discrimination in the group.
The surrender took place before Dhamtari’s Superintendent of Police, Suraj Singh Parihar.
Bhumika, a resident of Pusnar village of Bijapur district, had joined the Maoist group in 2005. She was associated with the Odisha state committee of the proscribed group and was also part of the security team of the central committee member, Sangram, for nearly 8 years. She was operating from near the Odisha-Chhattisgarh bordering areas before giving up arms, and was said to be a key Maoist operative.
According to police, Bhumika was part of numerous encounters with security forces in Odisha and Chhattisgarh for which a reward of Rs 5 lakh was announced for her. She has been provided with an immediate financial assistance of Rs 50,000 as provisioned in the state’s Surrender Cum Victim Rehabilitation policy.
Chhattisgarh witnessed a remarkable surge in surrenders by Maoist cadres in 2025, with over 1500 former Naxalites giving up arms and joining the mainstream. The development marks a significant turnaround in the state’s southern region, a hotbed of Maoist insurgency for decades.
The state government, under the rehabilitation drive (From rehabilitation to rebirth), is also providing skill training, employment opportunities, and benefits from other government-run welfare schemes to surrender Maoists, encouraging them to lead a normal life. The government has announced a deadline to eradicate the Red Terror by March 2026.
