In Chhattisgarh, 103 Maoists, including 23 women, surrendered before security forces in Bijapur district today.Out of these, 49 Maoists carried a combined reward of over one crore six lakh rupees on their heads.
They had been associated with various Maoist outfits for several years. Under the State Government’s rehabilitation policy, each surrendered Maoist was given an incentive amount of fifty thousand rupees.
With this total four hundred and ten Maoists have surrendered in the district so far this year. In addition, four hundred and twenty-one Maoists have been arrested, and one hundred and thirty-seven killed in separate encounters.
In a major development in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, 103 Naxalites surrendered to authorities on Thursday, while one cadre was killed in a separate encounter with security forces.
The surrendered cadres, including 22 women, cited disillusionment with Maoist ideology and internal disputes within the banned CPI (Maoist) as reasons for giving up arms, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav said.
Among the surrendered, 49 were carrying bounties totaling over Rs 1 crore, including divisional and platoon committee members with rewards ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 8 lakh.
The surrenders were influenced by development initiatives such as “Poona Margem” rehabilitation program, the “Niyad Nellanar” scheme, and the state’s new surrender and rehabilitation policy. Each cadre received immediate assistance of Rs 50,000, with plans for long-term reintegration into society.
In a separate incident, a Naxalite was killed in an ongoing encounter in the Gangaloor area, where intermittent gunfire continues. Security personnel recovered the body along with a weapon and explosives.
With this, 253 Naxalites have been killed in Chhattisgarh this year, including 224 in the Bastar division, 27 in Gariaband, and two in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki.
“The government’s rehabilitation policy and families’ support are encouraging Maoists to shun violence and return to mainstream society,” the SP said, urging more cadres to surrender. So far in Bijapur this year, 410 Naxalites have surrendered while 421 others have been arrested.