Some 210 Maoists who had laid down their arms over the past three days formally surrendered in Chhattisgarh on Friday, security officials said, describing it as the largest ever mass surrender by the rebels in the state.
“They surrendered in a ceremony attended by chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai in Jagdalpur,” a source in the security establishment said.
Among them were 120 Maoists who had laid down their arms in Bijapur on Thursday, and 50 who had done so at a BSF camp in Kanker on Wednesday.
The rebels, the official said, handed over 153 weapons, including 19 AK-47 rifles, 17 self-loading rifles, 23 Insas rifles, an Insas light machine gun, three dozen .303 rifles, four carbines and 11 barrel grenade launchers.
Chief minister Sai said: “This historic step is proof that our approach based on trust, dialogue and development — not violence — is yielding results.”
Officials said coordinated efforts by the police, central forces, local administration and community organisations had made the mass surrender possible.
“These surrenders mark a decisive shift in the region, reflecting the combined impact of security measures and government outreach programmes,” an official said.
Those who surrendered include central committee member Rupesh alias Satish; Dandakaranya special zonal committee members Bhaskar alias Rajman Mandavi, Ranita, Raju Salam and Dhannu Vetti alias Santu; and regional committee member Ratan Elam, sources said.
Tribal community leaders and priests greeted the surrendered rebels with red roses, welcoming them into the mainstream.
Naxalites hold copies of the Constitution of India after their surrender at the police lines, Jagdalpur, in Bastar district, Chhattisgarh, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. PTI
Later, the surrendered cadres posed for photographs with senior police and paramilitary officers and tribal community leaders.
Union home minister Amit Shah had on Thursday announced that 258 Maoists had surrendered in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra over the past two days.
He had declared the Abujhmarh forest, once a feared Maoist “liberated zone”, and north Bastar in Chhattisgarh free of “Naxal terror”.
Shah has repeatedly underlined the government’s resolve to eradicate Maoism, now largely concentrated in Chhattisgarh’s south Bastar region, by March 31 next year.
PM pledge
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said 303 prominent Maoist leaders had surrendered in the past 75 hours, accusing the Congress of nurturing “Maowadi atank” (Maoist terror) in the country.
Speaking at a summit organised by NDTV, Modi asserted that India would soon be free of Maoist violence, offering “Modi ki guarantee” as an assurance.
“Naxalism is, in reality, Maoist terrorism,” he said. “During Congress rule, urban Naxals were so influential that reports of Maoist attacks rarely reached the public. The Congress imposed heavy censorship to shield the truth.”
Modi said his government’s sustained crackdown on Maoist activities had compelled many senior leaders of the banned outfit to surrender. “Thousands of Naxalites have surrendered over the past decade. In the last 75 hours alone, 303 have laid down arms,” he said.
