170 Naxals surrender in Chhattisgarh

In a major breakthrough, as many as 170 Naxals on Thursday surrendered in Chhattisgarh, with some of them carrying rewards ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

Among those who surrendered included 10 senior operatives, including Satish, alias T Vasudeo Rao, of Central Committee Member (CCM), Ranita (SZCM, Secretary of Maad DVC), Bhaskar (DVCM, PL 32), Nila, alias Nande, (DVCM, IC and Secretary of Nelnar AC), Deepak Palo (DVCM, IC and Secretary of Indravati AC). T Vasudeo Rao (CCM) carried a reward of Rs 1 crore on his head.

Operatives of SZCM rank had rewards of Rs 25 lakh, DVCMs Rs 10 lakh to Rs15 lakh and ACMs had rewards worth Rs 5 lakh.

Huge numbers of automatic weapons, including AK-47s, INSAS, SLRs and 303 rifles, were also surrendered by the Naxals.

The number of Naxals, who surrendered on Thursday, assumes significance considering the fact that the Centre’s deadline of uprooting Naxalism from the country by March 31, 2026, is round the corner.

“Today, 170 Naxalites surrendered in Chhattisgarh. Yesterday, 27 had laid down their arms in the state. In Maharashtra, 61 returned to the mainstream yesterday. In total, 258 battle-hardened Left-wing extremists have abjured violence in the last two days,” Home Minister Amit Shah said in a post on X.

Since January 2024, after the BJP government was formed in Chhattisgarh, 2,100 Naxalites have surrendered, 1,785 have been arrested and 477 have been eliminated, Shah added.

The surrender also comes just two days after Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Sonu (70), a member of the CPI’s (Maoist) Politburo, surrendered in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli alongside 60 other cadres on October 14. With Sonu’s surrender, only nine core Central Committee members of CPI (Maoist) are now absconding.

These are Muppala Laxman Rao, Thippiri Thirupathi (reportedly the new CPI (Maoist) general secretary), Pulluri Prasad Rao, Paka Hanumanthulu, Pusunuri Narahari (all from Telangana), Misir Besra, Anal Da (both from Jharkhand) and Madavi Hidma as well as Majjidev (both from Chhattisgarh).

Shah lauded the decision of the Naxals to surrender.

“I applaud their decision to renounce violence, reposing their trust in the Constitution of India. It attests to the fact that Naxalism is breathing its last... Our policy is clear: those who want to surrender are welcome, and those who continue to wield the gun will meet the wrath of our forces,” Shah said on X.