Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh), Mar 11 (PTI) In a remarkable success of the government’s fight against Left-wing Extremism (LWE), 108 Maoists, including 44 women, carrying a collective reward of Rs 3.29 crore, surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district on Wednesday, officials said.
Besides a huge stock of weapons, Rs 3.61 crore in cash and one kg of gold valued at about Rs 1.64 crore were recovered from Maoist dumps, the highest seizure of cash and valuables from a single location in the history of anti-Naxal operations in the country, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattilingam told PTI.
Hailing the development, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said “guns are losing and trust is winning” in the Bastar region as 108 armed Maoist cadres have decided to abandon the path of violence and return to the mainstream.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has set a deadline of March 31, 2026, for the eradication of Naxalism from the country.
The cadres, belonging to the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) of Maoists, turned themselves before senior police and paramilitary officials at Police Coordination Centre, Lalbag, in Jagdalpur, the Bastar district headquarters, Pattilingam said.
They told police they were impressed by “Poona Margem” (from rehabilitation to social reintegration) rehabilitation initiative of police and terms of the government’s surrender and rehabilitation policy, he informed.
Of the surrendered Naxalites, six were divisional committee members carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh each, while 22 served as area committee members with a bounty of Rs 5 lakh each on their head, the senior IPS officer maintained.
The dreaded DKSZC formation of outlawed CPI (Maoists) has orchestrated several deadly attacks on security personnel in south Bastar in the past.
Information provided by the surrendered cadres helped security forces achieve significant successes, including the recovery of weapons, cash and other materials from Maoist dumps, the IGP stated.
A total of 101 weapons were seized, including AK-47, INSAS and SLR rifles, light machine guns, .303 rifles and barrel grenade launchers, dealing a significant blow to the already weakened military capability of the Maoist organisation, Pattilingam said.
Among those who surrendered were several key cadres, including divisional committee members Rahul Telam, Pandru Kovasi and Jhitru Oyam from the West Bastar division, Ramdhar alias Biru from the East Bastar division and Mallesh from the North Bastar division.
Others included Muchaki, commander of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) battalion, and Kosa Mandavi, a divisional committee member from the Andhra-Odisha Border area of Maoists, the IPS officer said.
The large-scale surrender indicated that Maoist ideology was weakening and even members within the organisation were questioning its relevance, Pattilingam said.
He said many cadres were influenced by the “Poona Margem initiative and were choosing to abandon violence and return to mainstream society.
Efforts are being made under the rehabilitation policies of the Centre and the Chhattisgarh government to ensure security and a dignified life for the surrendered cadres, the official said.
Of the 108 surrendered cadres, six were divisional committee members, three company platoon committee commanders, 18 platoon party committee members, 23 area committee members and 56 party members, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma told reporters in Raipur.
District-wise, 37 Maoists belonged from Bijapur, 28 were from Dantewada, 20 from Sukma, 16 from Bastar, four from Narayanpur and three from Kanker.
Maoists are increasingly shunning violence due to sustained operations by security personnel and the government’s rehabilitation policy, which offers them an opportunity to lead a peaceful life, asserted Sharma, who holds the home portfolio.
In a post on X, Chief Minister Sai said, “In Bastar, guns are losing, but trust is winning. Today in Jagdalpur, 108 armed Maoist cadres, carrying a bounty of Rs 3.29 crore, shunned violence and returned to mainstream of society. These include 44 female Maoists. This is a testament to the victory of peace, good governance, and development in Bastar.” The CM stressed on building a fear-free and developed Chhattisgarh.
“Under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, we are moving resolutely towards the complete eradication of Naxalism,” Sai noted.
According to police, 2,714 Maoist cadres have returned to the mainstream in the state over the past 26 months after giving up violence. In the Bastar division alone, 2,625 Maoists have surrendered between January 1, 2024 and March 9, 2026, they said. PTI ABS TKP GK RSY
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