77 Naxals Surrender in Chhattisgarh, Day After Bhupathi's Surrender in Gadchiroli

PTI, KANKER/SUKMA, OCT 15, 2025 :  In a major blow to the Naxal network, 77 Maoists, including 42 women cadres and at least two members of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma and Kanker districts on Wednesday, officials said. This development follows Tuesday’s mass surrender by senior Naxalite Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupathi and 60 other cadres in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district.

In Sukma district, 27 Naxals, including 10 women, laid down their arms. Among them, 16 Naxals were carrying a collective bounty of Rs 50 lakh, officials added.

In Kanker district, 50 Naxals, including two members of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of Maoists and 32 female cadres, turned themselves in at a Border Security Force (BSF) camp. Kanker is the adjoining district of Gadchiroli. A group of Maoist cadres, led by Rajman Mandavi and Raju Salam, both members of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) of Maoists, reached the Kamtera camp of BSF's 40th battalion under the Koylaibeda police station limits in Kanker, an official said.

They also surrendered 39 weapons, including seven AK-47 rifles, two Self-Loading Rifles, four INSAS rifles, an INSAS LMG (light machine gun), and a Sten gun, the official added. The surrendered cadres include five members of the divisional committee: Prasad Tadami, Heeralal Komra, Jugnu Kowachi, Narsingh Netam, and Nande (wife of Rajman Mandavi). The others include 21 area committee members and 21 party members.

The Naxals who surrendered in Sukma include Oyam Lakhmu (53), a member of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) battalion no. 1, which was considered the strongest military formation of Maoists. He carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, the official said. Three others – Madvi Bhima (18), a party member in a military platoon unit of PLGA battalion no. 1; Sunita alias Kawasi Somdi (24); and Sodi Mase (22), members of regional military company no. 2 – carried a bounty of Rs 8 lakh each, he added.

Besides, a cadre carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh, two cadres had a bounty of Rs 2 lakh each, and nine cadres had a reward of Rs 1 lakh each, officials said.

In a post on 'X', Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said: “Naxalism, which challenged the country’s internal security, is now collapsing on every front and is going through its final stage. The surrender of 60 Naxals, including the notorious Maoist politburo member Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu, in Gadchiroli is a decisive blow to the Naxalite ideology,” he stated.