In what is being viewed as the last nail in the coffin of Maoist menace, 16 extremists of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) operational in Jharkhand surrendered before the police in the state police headquarters in Ranchi on Tuesday and eight Maoists from Chhattisgarh, active in Saranda forests for decades, would surrender before Chhattisgarh police in a day or two, officials said on Tuesday.
The 16 Maoists surrendering on Tuesday had six Naxals with cumulative bounty of ₹39 lakh, including regional committee member (RCM) Santosh Mahto alias Basudev-da alias Gandhi with ₹15 lakh bounty, zonal committee member (ZCM) Chandan Lohra with ₹10 lakh bounty, SZCMs Anil Turi alias Ujjwal and Sukhlal Biranjia alias Akela with bounty of ₹5 lakh each, area committee members (ACMs) Sudesh Honhaga alias Sonaram and Reciv with bounty of ₹2 lakh each.
The 16 Maoists comprising an RCM, three ZCMs, four SZCMs and six ACMs laid down 11 weapons, including two AK-47 assault rifles, six INSAS rifles, one HK-33 rifle, a US carbine and a M-16 rifle along with 38 magazines and 1,562 rounds of live cartridges.
This apart, eight Maoists led by ZCM Aswin alias Lachhu Korsa having a bounty of ₹10 lakh had reached Chhattisgarh and would surrender before the police there tomorrow or day after, officials said.
{{/usCountry}}This apart, eight Maoists led by ZCM Aswin alias Lachhu Korsa having a bounty of ₹10 lakh had reached Chhattisgarh and would surrender before the police there tomorrow or day after, officials said.
{{/usCountry}}Jharkhand DGP Tadasha Mishra said this second mass-surrender was another big achievement of the state police.
“We are committed to wiping out extremism and organised crime from the state. Jharkhand police are working with determination, dedication and commitment to make the state clean and free of this menace,” the DGP said, after the surrender of the 16 Maoists.
ADG Manoj Kaushik, CRPF IG Saket Kumar Singh, IG Pankaj Kamboj, IG (operation) Narendra Kumar Singh, IG Anoop Birtharay and other senior police officers were present on the occasion.
And, for a change, relatives and family members of the surrendering Naxals were also invited on the occasion.
The disintegration of the Maoist ranks started with the successful joint operation by the CoBRA, CRPF, Jharkhand Jaguar and West Singhbhum police in Saranda forests on January 21-22, 2026 when 17 Maoists, including central committee member (CCM) Patiram Majhi alias Anal-da, carrying a bounty of ₹2.35 crore, and Lalchand Hembram alias Anmol, were neutralised. The total cumulative bounty on the slain 13 top Maoists was ₹4.49 crore.
The cascading effect bore fruit with 27 Maoists, 25 of them from Misir Besra and Asim Mondal’s teams, surrendering in Ranchi on May 21, 2026. They had a cumulative bounty of ₹33 lakh on their heads.
On July 13, another top Maoist Ravinder Ganjhu with a bounty of ₹20 lakh was arrested in Latehar while special area committee member (SACM) Ajay Mahto alias Tiger with a bounty of ₹25 lakh was arrested in Giridih on July 17. Ajay’s wife and ACM Anita Kisku alias Babita surrendered next day on July 18 last.
And finally, almost the entire security ring of Maoist politburo member Misir Besra laid down their arms before the police.
“Our operations were continuing all this while along with our initiatives to bring the Naxals back into the mainstream under ‘Navjivan’ campaign. During the past three months, 51 top ranking CPI (Maoist) extremists have surrendered. Since January, 2026, 93 Naxals have been arrested and 22 top Maoists have been neutralised till date. We again appeal to the remaining Maoists to surrender and benefits from the state government’s excellent surrender policy,” Narendra Kumar Singh, IG (operation), said.