Surrender by the Naxals & killing of top leaders point to the insurgency losing ground
A spate of surrenders by the Naxal rank and file and killing of top leaders point to the insurgency rapidly losing ground, but it may not be all over yet
Updated At : 08:46 AM Oct 26, 2025 IST
At the recent surrender of the Naxal rank and file, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis termed it a decisive blow to the backbone of Naxalism. PTI
ON October 16, 170 Naxals surrendered in Chhattisgarh and the very next day, 208 more laid down their arms. Around the same time, in Maharashtra, Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu (70), a member of the CPI (Maoist)’s Politburo, shared a warm handshake with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at a surrender ceremony. Along with him were 60 cadres. “The endgame has begun from Gadchiroli and the Red Corridor, which cuts through Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra to Jharkhand, is on the verge of being dismantled,” Fadnavis said. “This is not just a surrender, it’s a decisive blow to the backbone of Naxalism. It’s the beginning of the end of the Maoist movement,” he added.
