41 Maoists Including 32 High-Value Targets Abandon Guns Forever in Chhattisgarh

In a major setback to the Maoist insurgency, 41 Naxalites, including 32 carrying a combined bounty of Rs 1.19 crore, surrendered before senior police officials in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Wednesday. The group, comprising 12 women cadres, laid down arms citing disillusionment with violence and attraction towards the state government’s rehabilitation initiatives.

The surrendered insurgents include four members of the banned CPI (Maoist) People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Battalion No. 1, three area committee members, 11 platoon and area committee party members, and several militia commanders and members. Thirty-nine of the 41 belong to the south sub-zonal bureau and were active under the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, Telangana State Committee, and Dhamtari-Gariaband-Nuapada divisions.

Nine of the high-profile surrenderees each carried an Rs 8 lakh bounty, while others were wanted for Rs 5 lakh, Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively. Under the state’s rehabilitation policy, every surrendering cadre received immediate financial assistance of Rs 50,000 along with promises of security and social reintegration through the “Poona Margham” (new dawn) campaign launched by Bastar range police.

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Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav stated that the successive surrenders demonstrate growing faith among Maoist ranks in constitutional democracy and the government’s commitment to provide dignified livelihoods. He urged remaining insurgents to abandon violence and return to mainstream society without fear.

The latest development raises the number of Naxalites who have surrendered in Bijapur district alone to 790 since January 2024, even as security forces eliminated 202 Maoists and arrested 1,031 others in the same period. Statewide, more than 2,200 cadres have laid down arms in the past 23 months, marking one of the most significant collapses of Maoist influence in Chhattisgarh in recent decades.

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