210 Naxalites surrender in Chhattisgarh

Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh): As many as 210 Naxalites, including a Central Committee member of the Maoist organisation, surrendered before the police and paramilitary forces in Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar district, officials said.

The Naxalites also handed over 153 weapons, including 19 AK-47 rifles, 17 self-loading rifles, 23 INSAS rifles, an INSAS LMG (light machine gun), thirty-six .303 rifles, four carbines and 11 barrel grenade launchers (BGL), to the security personnel.

The surrendered cadres include one Central Committee member of the banned outfit, four Naxalites from Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DSZC), 21 members of the divisional committee and 61 area committee members, he said.

All the surrendered Naxalites were welcomed into the mainstream by tribal community leaders, who greeted them with flowers. Later, the surrendered cadres, senior police and paramilitary officials and tribal community leaders posed for photographs.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Deputy CM Vijay Sharma, who also holds the Home portfolio, will address a press conference on the surrender.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly underlined the government's resolve to eradicate Naxalism, largely concentrated in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region, by March 31, 2026.

On Thursday, Shah declared two worst-hit regions of Chhattisgarh, Abujhmarh and North Bastar, free from Naxal terror and made it clear that those willing to surrender are welcome, but those who continue to wield guns will face the wrath of security forces.