In a major development, 22 Naxals, including four with a total bounty of Rs 26 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, citing disillusionment with Maoist ideology and the state’s development schemes.
In a significant development, at least 22 Naxals, including four carrying a collective bounty of Rs 26 lakh, surrendered to security forces in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, according to the police.
This follows the surrender of 26 Naxals in the neighboring Dantewada district the previous day. The cadres, which included six women, turned themselves in before senior officials from the police and the Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF). They cited their disillusionment with the “hollow” and “inhuman” Maoist ideology and growing internal differences within the outfit as the main reasons for their decision to abandon violence.
Bijapur Superintendent of Police (SP), Jitendra Kumar Yadav, stated that the Naxals were also motivated by the state government’s ‘Niyad Nellanar’ (Your Good Village) scheme, which aims to bring development to remote villages surrounding security camps. Access to basic amenities and ongoing development works in these interior areas were also key factors that encouraged their surrender.
Among the surrendered Naxals, Kamli Hemla (32), a member of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) battalion no. 1 of the Maoists, and Muya Madvi (19), a party member in a company under the Telangana state committee, each had a reward of Rs 8 lakh on their heads. Additionally, Sonu Tati (28), a press team commander in the West Bastar division, and Mahesh Punem, a PLGA member in the Bhairamgarh area committee, were both carrying bounties of Rs 5 lakh each.
As of this year, 179 Naxals have surrendered in Bijapur district. In contrast, 83 Naxals have been killed and 172 arrested in separate incidents in the district during this period.
The surrendered Naxals were each provided assistance of Rs 50,000 and will be rehabilitated as per the government’s policy. In 2024 alone, a total of 792 Naxals surrendered in the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, including Bijapur and Dantewada.
The recent surrenders highlight growing disillusionment among Naxal cadres with the Maoist insurgency and the increasing influence of government-led developmental initiatives in these conflict-affected regions.