Incoming Peace? CPI-Maoist cadres, including 34 women, surrender in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar

New Delhi: In what could be termed as one of the most significant blow to leftist organisations like the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), a total of 51 cadres, including 34 women, surrendered in different incidents across the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, marking one of the largest mass surrenders in recent months.

In Bijapur district, 30 Maoist cadres affiliated with the South Sub-Zonal Bureau laid down arms before Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of CRPF Operations BS Negi and Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav. The group comprised 20 women and 10 men, with a cumulative reward of ₹8.5 million announced earlier based on their ranks and operational roles. Authorities said their identities and operational histories are being verified.

In a parallel development in Sukma district, 21 CPI-Maoist cadres surrendered under the Chhattisgarh Police’s ‘Puna Margam’ (Return to the Mainstream) rehabilitation campaign. The surrender took place before Bastar Range Inspector General of Police P Sundarraj, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan, and CRPF DIG Anand Singh Rajpurohit.

Among the surrendered cadres were three Divisional Committee Members (DVCMs) Sodhi Mahesh, Podiyam Raju, and Karam Mamta, each carrying a reward of ₹800,000. Five Area Committee Members (ACMs), each with a bounty of ₹500,000, were also among those who gave up insurgency, along with 13 active members from various platoons and area committees. Fourteen of the 21 surrendered in Sukma were women. The total reward on the group stood at ₹7.6 million.

The cadres deposited a substantial cache of arms and explosives, including three AK-47 rifles with eight magazines and 120 rounds, two SLR rifles with four magazines and 40 rounds, one INSAS assault rifle with 50 rounds, three barrel grenade launchers with 20 rounds, five single-shot firearms, along with gelatin sticks, detonators, and cordex wire.

Police said the surrendered Maoists had been active across the Darbha and South Bastar divisions, the Kalahandi-Kandhamal-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division in Odisha, and the Indravati Area Committee.

IGP P Sundarraj described the surrender as a “major breakthrough” in efforts to restore peace and weaken the Maoist insurgency in Bastar, adding that sustained security operations combined with rehabilitation incentives are encouraging cadres to abandon armed struggle.

Security agencies said operations against remaining insurgent formations will continue, even as rehabilitation and reintegration measures are expanded to consolidate gains on the ground.

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