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22 Maoists surrender in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district: Police
According to police, the cadres were influenced by the state government’s rehabilitation policy and sustained anti-Maoist operations in the region
As many as 22 Maoists surrendered before police in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, officials said on Wednesday.
The surrender took place at the office of the superintendent of police (SP) in Sukma in presence of senior officers, including superintendent of police (SP) Kiran Chavan and other district and battalion officials.
According to police, the cadres were influenced by the state government’s rehabilitation policy and sustained anti-Maoist operations in the region.
Officials said the “Puna Marge” initiative, aimed at bringing extremists back into the mainstream, played a significant role in persuading them to lay down arms.
Police said intensified operations, the establishment of new security camps, improved road connectivity and increased development outreach in interior areas have steadily weakened the Maoist organisation’s influence in the district.
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The District Reserve Guard, Sukma district police, Range Field Team Jagdalpur, battalions 02, 74, 111, 223 and 227, Cobra 201, and the intelligence wing were involved in counselling and motivating the cadres to surrender, officials added.
Police also released the names and background details of nine of the surrendered cadres, most of whom were associated with village-level militia units and Revolutionary People’s Committee structures in the Pedda Vagu and Bhimapuram areas.
Police said some of the surrendered cadres had been associated with the organisation since the 1990s, while others had joined between 2023 and 2024.
Under the Chhattisgarh Naxalite Surrender/Victim Relief and Rehabilitation Policy-2025, the surrendered Maoists will receive an incentive amount of ₹50,000 each along with other rehabilitation benefits, officials said.
Sukma, part of the Bastar region, remains one of the districts affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE), where security forces have intensified operations in recent years.
