RAIPUR: A total of 108 Maoists, including 44 women cadres associated with the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), surrendered before high-ranking officials at Jagdalpur, the district headquarters of Bastar in south Chhattisgarh, on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media, Sundarraj Pattilingam, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) said, “The surrendered group includes several high-ranking leaders, comprising 5 Divisional Committee Members (DVCM), 2 PLGA Company Commanders, 15 Platoon Party Committee Members, and 21 Area Committee Members. Collectively, these individuals carried a combined bounty of Rs 3.29 crore."
Acting on intelligence inputs provided by the surrendered cadres, security forces launched targeted operations that led to the recovery of a large cache of weapons and assets from various dumps. In a historic first, forces recovered Rs 3.61 crore in cash and one kg of gold valued at approximately Rs 1.64 crore, which officials said is the largest single recovery so far in the nation’s anti-insurgency operations.
The recovered arsenal includes 101 weapons, comprising seven AK-47 rifles, 10 INSAS rifles, four Light Machine Guns (LMG), 11 Barrel Grenade Launchers (BGL), twenty .303 rifles and various other firearms.
Within the Bastar division, the highest recovery of arms was made in Narayanpur district with 49 weapons, followed by Jagdalpur, Sukma district, Bijapur district, Dantewada district and Kanker district.
The homecoming, organised under the “Poona Margham – Rehabilitation to Rejuvenation” initiative, marks a significant shift toward peace in the Bastar region.
“The Poona Margham as a new dawn initiative has steered several Maoist rebels away from the banned outfit and into the mainstream. It has fundamentally changed the landscape in Bastar. Between January 1, 2024 and March 9, 2026, a total of 2625 Maoist cadres have embraced the path of rehabilitation in the Bastar division alone. Over the last 26 months, that number stands at 2714 across the state”, IG Sundarraj told this newspaper.
The occasion was attended by senior officials, including Arun Dev Gautam, Director General of Police of Chhattisgarh.
Under the State government’s surrender and rehabilitation policy, the former cadres will receive financial assistance, vocational training, housing and education to help them integrate into civil society.
The Bastar Police have also appealed to the remaining active Maoists to give up the "pointless path of violence" and return to the mainstream, assuring them of a secure and dignified future.