RAIPUR: The recent mass surrenders of Maoists at Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) and Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh) have led a senior leader of Udanti Area Committee, active along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border, to appeal to cadres active in the region to lay down their arms and rejoin the mainstream.
A one-page letter in Hindi issued in the name of Maoist leader Sunil, has cited the surrender with weapons led by Sonu Dada in Maharashtra and Rupesh Dada in Chhattisgarh hinting the pressure of the security forces and inability to operate the mission of CPI (Maoist) in the present context asked the comrades to halt the armed struggle but will continue to resolve the problems of the people.
“So, our Udanti Area in the Gariaband region decided to stop the armed movement. I appealed to all units—Gobra, Sinapali, SDK (Sonabeda-Dharambandha-Kholibatar area), Sitanadi, to decide at the earliest, as we have already lost several key senior leaders. We support the decision taken by Sonu Dada and Rupesh Dada. Join with your arms (to surrender)”, stated the letter that also carried the mobile phone number of Sunil for the members of the region.
Gariaband district police chief Nikhil Rakhecha welcomed the move of Maoists to renounce the path of violence and return to society.
“We are hopeful that the remaining Maoist cases will respond positively to the letter apparently shared with the media. We are also trying to reach out to them for their surrender with weapons”, Rakhecha told the TNIE.
Gariaband, adjoining Odisha state, is among the Maoist-affected districts of Chhattisgarh. The Udanti Area Committee covers adjoining regions along the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border.
In a major development, 210 Naxal cadres, including 111 women, surrendered to police and paramilitary forces in Jagdalpur, Bastar district, on Friday. Earlier, senior Maoist politburo member Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Bhupathi, along with 60 other hardcore militants, had surrendered in Gadchiroli.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said India is likely to be free of Maoist influence by March 2026.