At least 108 Maui hold a cumulative bonus $Rs 3.95 crore and a large cache of arms were handed over in Bastar district on Wednesday, police said, calling it the largest ever seizure of cash and valuables from a single Naxal hideout.
The cadres, from the Dandakaranya Special District Committee (DKSZC) of the banned CPI (Maoist) party, surrendered themselves in Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar district. Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said intelligence from the surrendered cadres led to the largest seizure of cash and valuables from a single Maoist hideout in the history of anti-Naxal operations in the country.
Bonus included $3.61 crore in cash, and the value of one kg of gold is approx $The Rs 1.64 lakh crore and 101 weapons, including AK-47 rifles, INSAS rifles, SLRs, light machine guns, .303 rifles and barrel grenade launchers, dealt a huge blow to the military capability of the Maoists, police said.
The key surrendered cadres included Divisional Committee Members (DVCMs) Rahul Tailam, Pandru Kovasi and Jetru Oyam of West Bastar Division; Ramdar alias Biru of East Bastar Division; Malish is from North Bastar division. The others were Mushaki, a PLA battalion commander, and Kosa Mandavi, a DVCM from the Andhra-Odisha border district.
In an official statement, Chhattisgarh Police said, “Today, March 11, 2026 (Wednesday), at the Bastar Divisional Headquarters in Jagdalpur, a total of 108 Maoist cadres from DKSZC (Dandakaranya Special District Committee) will join the mainstream of the community under the Puna Marjim Initiative: From Rehabilitation to Rejuvenation. Notably, based on the information provided by the cadres who renounced violence and joined the mainstream, along with their inputs Another intelligence operation, the largest ever recovery operation in the history of Indian anti-Naxal operations was achieved.
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who holds the Home Ministry, said six of the surrendered cadres were DVCMs and carried a reward of Rs. $8 lakh each, while the others included three leaders of secret faction committees, 18 members of the faction party committee, 23 members of the district committee, and 56 party members.
At the district level, 37 Maoists were from Bijapur, 30 from Dantewada, 18 from Sukma, 16 from Bastar, four from Narayanpur and three from Kanker, he added.
Police said the large-scale surrender operation reflects growing disillusionment with Maoist ideology and the impact of intensified security operations in the Bastar region. The officials added that many cadres were influenced by the state government’s initiative ‘Puna Marjim – Rehabilitation for Rejuvenation’ and decided to return to the mainstream.
According to police data, 2,714 Maoists surrendered in Chhattisgarh in the last 26 months, including 2,625 in Bastar district between January 1, 2024 and March 9, 2026. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has set March 31, 2026 as the deadline to eliminate Naxalism from the country.
Before the deadline set by the government, only two members of the Central Committee of the CPI(M) are still wanted. As of January 1 last year, the banned party’s central committee had 21 members, 19 of whom surrendered or were killed in gun battles. At its peak during the early 2000s, the Communist Party of Iran (Maoist) had 40-45 central committee members.
Most paramilitary forces will be withdrawn by March 2027
Meanwhile, Sharma added that most of the paramilitary forces deployed in Bastar region are likely to be withdrawn by March 31, 2027, after the proposed end of Maoism in the state.
Responding to a discussion on the budget request proposals of his departments in the Legislative Council on Tuesday, Sharma said the government has set March 31, 2026 as the target date for ending armed Maoism.
“March 31, 2026 has been set as the end date for armed Maoism. It has also been decided that troops will start returning by March 31, 2027. Some may return even earlier,” Sharma told the House.
He said that discussions have been held to set March 31, 2027 as the timetable for the withdrawal of central forces, although the timetable may vary slightly. “After that, all the central forces will also leave,” he added.
Sharma also informed the House that the police station has been privatised $7,130.48 crore under the head of revenue expenditure and $590.53 crore under capital expenditure in the main budget, taking the total allocation to $Rs 7,721.01 crore.
He said $Rs 38 crore has been allocated for fixed deposits and vocational training for surrendered Maoist cadres under the Central Rehabilitation Policy to support their rehabilitation.
Earlier, former Prime Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel, while participating in the discussion, said that everyone wants Maoism to end and for peace to prevail in the region.
He noted that the government has repeatedly said that Maoism will end by March 31, 2026. “There are only 21 days left until March 31. We hope that the withdrawal of paramilitary forces will begin after that,” Baghel said.
Baghel also suggested holding a special session of the Assembly on March 31 to celebrate the end of Maoism in the state, adding that after Maoism ends, Bastar should primarily benefit the local people.
After the discussion, Pagel demanded that the votes be divided on the severance proposal, which was rejected after a vote of 37 votes against and 24 votes in favour. The council later passed the budget demand proposals for the departments held by Sharma.
