139 Maoists surrender in two days as government vows ‘Naxal-free Bharat’ 

The decades-long fight against Left Wing Extremism (LWE) reached a critical turning point this week as 139 Naxalite cadres laid down their arms across Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh in a massive two-day wave of surrenders.

The development, highlighted by the surrender of a top Maoist strategist with a Rs 6 crore bounty and 60 cadres in Gadchiroli district, was hailed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as “the beginning of the end of the Naxal movement” in the region.

The saga began on Tuesday in Gadchiroli district with the surrender of Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupathi, a senior Naxalite leader and influential strategist for the outlawed CPI (Maoist).

Bhupathi, who supervised platoon operations along the state border, formally surrendered with 60 cadres, bringing with them a significant cache of 54 weapons, including seven AK-47S and nine INSAS rifles.

Addressing the gathering, Fadnavis called the surrender a “big thing in the history of the country,” stating it was the start of the end for Naxalism in Maharashtra.

He also expressed confidence that the entire “red corridor” in Chhattisgarh and Telangana would soon be Naxal-free.

Despite the major success, the Maharashtra Chief Minister cautioned security forces to remain “very alert for the next two years” against a possible final retaliatory attack.

Fadnavis promised proper rehabilitation for the surrendered Naxalites and highlighted major development plans for Gadchiroli, which he said is becoming a steel hub with investments of around Rs 3 lakh crore aimed at creating over one lakh local jobs.

He asked the remaining handful of Naxalites to surrender or face police action.

The remaining cadres, who are in Chhattisgarh, have also understood that they have lost the ideological war and that the dreams they were chasing were wrong. They have understood that only the Indian Constitution can ensure them justice, he said.

Adding a crucial element to rehabilitation, private firm Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd (LMEL) announced it would train and employ surrendered Naxalites in the industrialising district.

Following the event in Maharashtra, Naxal-affected districts in Chhattisgarh  reported three significant surrenders on Wednesday, involving 78 Maoist cadres.

In Kanker district, 50 cadres, including 32 women and key regional leaders like Rajman Mandavi and Raju Salam of the influential Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, surrendered before the Border Security Force (BSF), turning in weapons that included seven AK-47 rifles and an INSAS Light Machine Gun (LMG).

Separately, 27 cadres surrendered in Sukma before senior police and CRPF officials. Sixteen of these cadres carried a collective reward of Rs 50 lakh, including high-profile member Oyam Lakhmu (PLGA Battalion No. 1) with a Rs 10 lakh bounty.

The cadres across both states cited disillusionment with the “hollow” Maoist ideology, atrocities against innocent tribals, and the state government’s new surrender and development schemes as their motivation for returning to the mainstream.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai stated that Naxalism was “collapsing on every front and is going through its final stage.” The Union Home Ministry hailed the surrenders as a “giant stride” toward the Modi government’s vision of a “Naxal-free Bharat” and said the number of districts most affected by LWE has been dramatically reduced from six to just three—Bijapur, Sukma, and Narayanpur, all located in Chhattisgarh.

The broader category of LWE-affected districts has also been cut from 18 to 11. These 11 districts now include seven in Chhattisgarh, along with one each in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha.

The MHA highlighted record operational successes this year, wherein 312 LWE cadres have been eliminated, including the CPI (Maoist) General Secretary and eight other Polit Bureau/Central Committee Members.

As many as 1,639 LWE cadres have surrendered and joined the mainstream this year alone.

The government reiterated its firm commitment to completely eradicating the Naxal menace by March 31 next year.