In a development that has produced a sizable setback for the extremist movement in the Bastar region, ten Naxalites with a collective reward of ₹65 lakh, surrendered to security forces in Chhattisgarh on Friday.
The list of Maoists who surrendered to the security forces today also included senior Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) member Chaitu alias Shyam Dada, who carried a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on his head.
Chaitu, long considered one of the masterminds behind the infamous 2013 Jhiram Valley attack that wiped out almost the entire Congress state leadership at the time and resulted in the death of 27 individuals, had been heading the Darbha division of CPI (Maoist) for several years.
As per state police officials, Chaitu has been one of the most active Maoist commanders along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border region.
Who else surrendered ?
The other surrendered cadres included some other senior names such as that of divisional committee member (DCVM) Saroj alias Urmila (Rs 8 lakh reward) and active committee members Sahayak Ram, Prakash, Kamlesh, Janani alias Raymati Kashyap among others.
What drove these surrenders ?
The surrender closely follows on the heels of multiple high-profile Maoist giving up arms this year in light of a growing break up within the outlawed outfit and the success of coordinated security and development outreach operations in the region.
As per state police officials, relentless “anti-Naxal” operations by DRG, Bastar Fighters, CRPF and other security forces, coupled with large-scale surrenders of senior Maoist leaders in recent months, prompted the surrenders made today.
All ten cadres surrendered before senior police and district administration officials in Sukma and expressed their desire to join the mainstream.
Naxalites is a term popularly used in India to refer to the various militant Left-Wing Extremist (LWE) groups, including the CPI (Maoist).
According to official data for 2025, in Chhattisgarh alone the state has recorded 237 Left Wing Extremist (LWE)/Naxal killings, 812 arrests, and 723 surrender-cases since January 2024.