Narayanpur recorded a major breakthrough on Tuesday when 28 Maoists from the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee surrendered before Bastar IG Sundarraj P at the district police office. The group included 19 women and 9 men who reached the Superintendent of Police office in a police vehicle with their weapons.
Police officers said the surrender marked a serious setback for the Naxalite Maad Division Committee. They added that the division committee has weakened in the past few months because security forces increased operations in the dense Abujhmad region and several senior cadres either died or chose to surrender.
Officials identified Dinesh, known as Pandi in the Naxal network, as the most prominent face in the group. He served as a DVC member in the Kutul Area Committee. Police had placed an 8 lakh rupee bounty on him. Two other Maoists in the group carried the same reward. The entire group carried a total bounty of 89 lakh rupees.
The surrendering Maoists handed over an INSAS rifle, an SLR and a twelve bore rifle. Officers said these weapons indicated that the cadres held important roles in the organisation. They added that the decision of the group to reach the SP office in a police vehicle showed growing trust in the government’s rehabilitation policy and increasing pressure inside the Naxal organisation.
Security agencies said the Maad Division Committee previously issued a letter signalling that it wanted to give up arms. Search reports also pointed to internal discussions about ending armed resistance and joining the peace process. Officers said these developments laid the ground for the mass surrender.
Police officials linked the shift to the government’s anti Naxal policy and the steady rollout of welfare schemes in remote areas. They said the surrendered cadres will receive benefits under the rehabilitation policy so that they can return to a normal life. Bastar IG Sundarraj P urged other cadres who still follow violent paths to choose peace and return to the mainstream.
