SUKMA: As many as 29 Naxalites surrendered before the police in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Wednesday, a senior official said.
The cadres, all active as members of the frontal wings of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), turned themselves in before senior police and CRPF officials here under "Poona Margem" (from rehabilitation to social reintegration) initiative, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.
They were impressed by the state government's surrender and rehabilitation policy, he said.
Of them, Podiam Budhra, head of Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Majdoor Sangthan (DAKMS - frontal wing of Maoists) in the Gogunda area, was carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head. The other cadres were members of DAKMS, militia, and Janatana Sarkar wings of the Maoists, the official said.
The establishment of a security camp in the Gogunda area recently played a crucial role in the surrender. Following the setting up of the camp, intensified anti-Naxal operations, sustained pressure and continuous search operations significantly curtailed Maoist activities in the region, he said.
Gogunda area, owing to its difficult and remote terrain, was earlier considered a safe and strategic base for the Maoists' Darbha division.
But after the security camp was established, the Maoist stronghold was effectively dismantled, the official said, adding that with this surrender, the Maoists' support system in the Darbha division has also been weakened.
Chavan appealed to all those associated with the outlawed Maoist organisation to give up violence, assuring them security and a respectable life.
Earlier, 63 Naxalites surrendered in the neighbouring Dantewada district on January 8, while 26 cadres shunned violence and joined the mainstream in Sukma on January 7.
More than 1,500 Naxalites surrendered in the state in 2025.
The Centre has resolved to eliminate Naxalism from the country by March 31 this year.