On January 9, 2026, 63 cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), 36 of whom carried cumulative rewards worth Rs 11.9 million, surrendered in Dantewada District in the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaurav Rai declared, “Today, on 09/01/2026, a total of 63 Maoist cadres joined the mainstream of society in District South Bastar Dantewada under the Poona Margem: Rehabilitation to Revival initiative." Among the surrendered Maoists were 18 women, a Police statement said.

“They were active in the Darbha Division, South Bastar, West Bastar, the Maad area, and Odisha State," Rai added.

The surrendered Maoists included seven cadres carrying rewards of Rs 800,000 each, seven with rewards of Rs 500,000 each, eight with rewards of Rs 200,000 each, 11 with rewards of Rs 100,000 each, and three with rewards of Rs 50,000 each, bringing the total reward amount for their capture to Rs 11.95 million.

Senior Maoist leaders among those who surrendered included Paklu alias Pradip Oyam (45), the ‘secretary’ of the Maoist Kalahandi Area Committee; Mohan Kadti alias Azad (32), a Divisional Committee Member (DVCM) involved in ambushes and killings since 2005; as well as his wife, Sumitra Kadti alias Draupadi Chapa (30), also a DVCM and Bhairamarh Area Committee ‘secretary’, who was linked to multiple encounters and arson incidents. Other surrendered cadres included Hungi alias Ankita alias Radhika Lekam (28), a Platoon Party Committee Member (PPCM) associated with propaganda activities and violent acts; Sukhram Tati (20), a member of Company No. 1; Pandu Madkam (19), a member of Company No. 7; and Somdu Kadti (21), also a member of the same wing. The remaining cadres were involved in improvised explosive device (IED) blasts, vehicle burnings, road blockades, and propaganda campaigns.

On January 7, 2026, 26 CPI-Maoist cadres, 13 of them carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 6.4 million, surrendered in Sukma District. The surrendered Maoists had been involved in several major incidents in Sukma District, Marwar region and border Odisha.

Among them was 35-year-old Lali alias Muchaki Ayate, a ‘Deputy Commander’ who was carrying a reward of Rs 1 million, allegedly involved in a 2017 incident in which an IED exploded on a Security Forces (SFs) vehicle on the Sonabeda village to Koraput Road in Odisha, killing 14 soldiers. Another surrendered Maoist, Hemla Lakhma (41), a resident of Sukma District, carried a reward of Rs 800,000 and had been working with the Maoists since 2011. The Police statement disclosed that he was involved in an encounter in which 17 Police personnel were killed in the forest of Minpa village in the year 2020.

On January 5, 2026, a woman CPI-Maoist cadre, identified as Role alias Gita alias Lata alias Somari (37), carrying a reward of Rs 500,000, surrendered before the Police in Dhamtari District, Chhattisgarh, citing disillusionment with the banned outfit’s ideology. Gita, who was active as a member of the Nagri Area Committee and ‘commander’ of the Gobra Local Organisation Squad (LOS), surrendered before Dhamtari SP Suraj Singh Parihar.

Gita, a native of Pusnar village under Gangaloor Police Station in Bijapur District, had been associated with the Maoist organisation since 2005. During her long stint with the outfit, she said she was deprived of family life and faced discriminatory treatment, which led to growing resentment and eventual disenchantment with the group’s ideology.

At least 90 Maoist surrenders have been recorded in the State since the beginning of the current year, thus far (data till January 11, 2026). According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), 1,425 Maoists surrendered in Chhattisgarh in 2025, in addition to 332 such........

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