New Delhi: Eleven Maoists—including a divisional committee member—surrendered before security forces in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district Thursday, compressing the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist)’s footprint to a single subdivision of a district it once controlled entirely.
At its peak, the outfit was active across all 10 subdivisions of Gadchiroli, senior police officers said, adding that it now holds ground only in the Bhamragad subdivision along the state border.
Thursday’s surrender included a divisional committee member (DVCM), an area committee secretary, and a Perimili popular committee member (PPCM)—a senior cadre rank within the outfit’s regional command structure.
The senior-most among those who came forward was Yamunakka alias Rukhmakka Potti Pendam, who joined the outfit in 1982 and was allegedly named in 27 cases in Gadchiroli, police said. Of these, 16 cases were related to exchange of fire, they said.
The latest laying down of arms brought the total surrenders of Maoists in Gadchiroli to 123 since January 2025. That tally includes former politburo and central committee member Mallujola Venugopal, alias Sonu alias Abhay, who surrendered before Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in October last year.
Since Venugopal’s surrender, 897 Maoist cadres across the country have surrendered and laid down 545 weapons, police said.
Other senior leaders to give up arms are Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji, Malla Raji Reddy alias Sangram, and Pulluri Prasad Rao alias Chandranna—all of whom surrendered before Telangana Police.
The cascade of surrenders across Maoist-affected states—Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh—comes as the government’s self-imposed deadline to eliminate Left Wing Extremism by 31 March draws near.
Under Maharashtra’s policy, the 11 cadres will receive rehabilitation packages of between Rs 4.5 lakh and Rs 8 lakh, calibrated to their seniority at the time of surrender. The state additionally offers Rs 1.5 lakh when a couple from the outfit surrenders together, and a further cumulative sum of Rs 10 lakh for group surrenders—a provision also triggered in Thursday’s handover.
Special Inspector General of Police (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sandeep Patil appealed to remaining underground cadres to lay down their arms and avail of the state government’s rehabilitation package.
Thursday’s surrender was overseen by Gadchiroli Range DIG Ankit Goyal, Superintendent of Police Neelotpal, and senior officers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
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