26 Maoists, including 7 women, surrendered in Sukma on Wednesday after former Maoist commander Barse Deva quit the so-called movement; police said the group carried rewards worth Rs 64 lakh.

Police officials said the surrender broke the remaining structure of Battalion Number 1, where Barse Deva earlier served as commander-in-chief. The surrendered Maoists had worked closely with him and operated across south Bastar and the Andhra-Odisha border areas.

Officials identified the group as one CYPCM cadre, one DVCM, three PPCM, three ACM and 18 party members. Police records showed that several of them stayed active in the AOB region, south Bastar and the Maad division. Authorities linked the cadres to multiple major incidents in Sukma, the Maad area and parts of Odisha. The government had announced individual bounties ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh on them.

Sukma superintendent of police Kiran Chavan said Maoists continued to surrender and added that the organisation had weakened in recent months. He said all 26 cadres gave up violence and received Rs 50,000 each as incentive assistance. Chavan urged other armed members to lay down weapons and return to the mainstream.

A few days earlier, most-wanted Maoist leader Barse Deva, a special zonal committee member, surrendered along with 20 cadres in Hyderabad. Police said Barse reached Mulugu in Telangana with his associates, from where teams moved him to Hyderabad. The group handed over a large cache of weapons and cash at the time.

On December 25, security forces killed 6 Maoists in an encounter in the Kandhamal district of Odisha. The dead included central committee member Ganesh Uike, aged 69, who carried a bounty of over Rs 1 crore. Security forces also recovered bodies and weapons from the site.