Bijapur: As many as 51 Maoists, including 24 women and carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 1.61 crore, surrendered before security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma and Bijapur districts, officials said.
Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said the latest surrender underscores the administration’s rehabilitation push. “Over 2,400 Maoist cadres have left the organisation in the last two years. The administration remains committed to providing all willing cadres with support for a dignified rehabilitation,” he said.
The development comes amid the Centre’s March 2026 deadline to end the Maoist insurgency, and a day after senior Maoist leader L. Prabhakar Rao was killed along with six others in an encounter in the Abujhmad region.
In Sukma district alone, 21 cadres, 14 of them women, surrendered with weapons and explosives, carrying a combined bounty of Rs 76 lakh. The surrendered arms included three AK-47 rifles with 120 rounds, two SLRs with 40 rounds, INSAS rifles with 50 rounds, five single-shot guns, three barrel grenade launchers (BGLs) with 20 rounds, along with 10 gelatin sticks, wires, and 20 detonators.
Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said local residents played a crucial role in facilitating the surrenders. “The local residents helped us establish contact with the Naxal cadres and facilitate the surrenders. Twelve of the cadres are from Chhattisgarh but were active in Odisha. Barely 20-odd armed cadres are left in Sukma, and we appeal to them to return to the mainstream,” he said.
Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Yadav said 30 Maoists, including 20 women, with a cumulative bounty of Rs 85 lakh, had renounced violence. “They have distanced themselves from the violent ideology and chosen the path of peace,” he said.
Officials said each surrendered Maoist will receive Rs 50,000 as immediate financial assistance, in addition to the bounty declared on them. Further incentives will be provided for surrendered weapons, including up to Rs 4 lakh for handing over an AK-47 rifle.
In 2024, Union Home Minister Amit Shah set a March 2026 deadline to end the Maoist insurgency. Over the past two years, the Chhattisgarh Police, working alongside central forces, have either killed or secured the surrender of most senior Maoist leaders. However, two key figures, Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) member Papa Rao and Central Committee member Mallaraji Reddy alias Sangram, remain active.
Security forces continue to be concerned about Battalion 1 of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the armed wing of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). Although the battalion has been fragmented into smaller units, it remains operational.
The battalion’s longtime commander, Madvi Hidma, was killed in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh in November last year. His successor, Barse Deva, surrendered to authorities in Telangana in January this year.
