Big surrender surge on deadline day sees 35 lay down arms

Raipur: On the final day of the Centre's March 31 deadline to end Left Wing Extremism (LWE), 35 Maoist cadres surrendered across Bastar districts, while security forces recovered 7kg of gold, Rs 2.9 crore in cash, and 93 weapons from Maoist caches.

Of the surrendered cadres, 25 were in Bijapur, five in Dantewada, two each in Sukma and Kanker, and one in Narayanpur.

In Dantewada, five cadres, including four women linked to the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), surrendered under the "Puna Margam – rehabilitation to rejuvenation" campaign. The surrendered cadres, from Bijapur, carried a combined bounty of Rs 9 lakh. Intelligence from them helped recover 40 weapons, including rifles, carbines, and grenade launchers. SP Gaurav Rai claimed that with the surrender of the "last five active Maoists" in the district, Dantewada was now Naxal-free.


Bijapur saw 25 cadres surrender, along with 93 weapons including AK-47s and SLRs. Authorities also seized Rs 2.9 crore in cash and 7.2 kg of gold, valued at over Rs 14 crore.

In Sukma, two women cadres surrendered with rewards of Rs 8 lakh each. Police recovered one INSAS LMG, two AK-47s, three .303 rifles, ammunition, and Rs 10 lakh in cash, marking significant dismantling of the Maoist presence there.

Sukma SP Kiran Chavan said the recovery of cash and automatic weapons was a major success and claimed that the Maoist organisation in Sukma had been "nearly dismantled."

One cadre surrendered in Narayanpur with an LMG, and two cadres surrendered in Kanker with an AK-47.

Kanker SP Nikhil Rakhecha said 11 Maoist cadres had returned to the mainstream in the district over the past six days.

Police said around 14 Maoists were still active in Kanker district, including DVCM-level cadres Chander and Rupi. Efforts were being made to contact the remaining cadres using information provided by those who had surrendered and persuade them to return to the mainstream.

Bastar range IG Sundarraj Pattilingam appealed to the remaining Maoists to abandon violence and choose rehabilitation before the deadline, urging a return to peaceful life.