Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Odisha: Dozens of Naxals surrender to save their lives as govt’s action continues, India well on path to be ‘Naxal-Mukt’ by March 31, 2026
A paradigm shift is taking place in the Naxal-infested Dandakaranya region as once powerful Maoist terrorists are now either getting eliminated by security forces or are surrendering. The Indian government is steadily moving towards achieving its objective of making India a left-wing terrorism free India by 31st March 2026.
On one hand, the security forces are eliminating Naxalite leaders, on the other, the government is ensuring proper rehabilitation and mainstreaming of the surrendered Naxals.
In Telangana, 64 Naxalites surrendered before the police in March this year in the Bhadradri Kothagudem district. The surrendered CPI (Maoist) members included cadres from various ranks, including an Area Committee Member (ACM) from Chhattisgarh and members from bordering villages of Telangana. In the initial months of 2025, 122 Maoist party members were reported to have surrendered before the Bhadradri Kothagudem district police.
Similarly, in May, 8 naxalites surrendered in the Mulugu district of Telangana. In another incident, 7 cadres of CPI (Maoist) party surrendered to the district police and CRPF officials. As per the Telangana Police, 355 Maoists have surrendered before the Telangana police including 68 before Mulugu District Police since January, 2025
In June, security forces eliminated three Naxalites in an encounter along the border of Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. 2 AK-47 rifles and other material have been recovered from the Naxalites. Gajarla Ravi alias Udal, secretary of Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC), is also among those neutralised. He was assigned this post four years ago.
Security forces saw a group of 16 Naxalites in the Maredumilli forest of East Godavari district. The Naxalites started firing at the security forces when cornered. There was an encounter between the security forces and the Naxalites for about 25 minutes. After the encounter, three bodies were recovered from the site.
According to the information, among those killed, Gajrala had a reward of 40 lakhs, and there was a reward of 50 lakhs on Aruna, wife of Maoist Central Committee leader Chalapathi. Chalapathi himself was killed in an encounter recently. Another female Naxalite, Anju, was also killed in the encounter.
Meanwhile, on 1st July, the Chhattisgarh government and central government intensified the campaign to eradicate Naxalism. Under this, a target has been set to eradicate Naxalism by March 2026. Narayanpur Collector Pratishtha Mamgai said that a survey was conducted for housing for all Naxal victims and surrendered Naxalites, and all eligible beneficiaries have been approved for PM housing.
In Chhattisgarh’s new Naxal rehabilitation policy, arrangements are being made to secure the future of surrendered Naxalites. Under this initiative, dedicated Naxalites are being trained according to their proficiency in the Livelihood College, focusing on skill development and upgradation at the district level. After completing this training, they will also receive a monthly allowance of ten thousand rupees for a period of three years to support their employment or self-employment.
Former Naxalites are being given skill development training in special training camps run by the government through the Livelihood College at Narayanpur district headquarters. Surrendered Naxalites are moving on the path of becoming self-reliant and are raising their families. The surrendered Naxalites taking training in these camps seem satisfied with the present while expressing regret over their past. At Narayanpur’s Livelihood College, surrendered Naxalites receive technical education in sewing, embroidery, masonry, plumbing, driving, and computer skills.
Meanwhile, in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, 23 Naxalites carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 1.18 crore surrendered. The group comprised 14 men and nine women, all identified as hardcore Naxalites.
In June this year, 16 naxals with a cumulative bounty of Rs 25 lakh surrendered in Sukma’s Kerlapenda village panchayat under Chintalanar police station precinct.
In the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh, three Naxalites, including women carrying a collective cash reward of Rs 19 lakh, surrendered before security forces in June 2025.
All the surrendered Naxalites were provided Rs 50,000 each, and the authorities are rehabilitating them as per the government’s policy. In Narayanpur alone, 104 Naxalites have quit left-wing terrorism.
In a major success in ending the Naxal menace, two Naxalites, a husband and wife identified as Jeevan Tulavi and Agasha, working in the ideological and propaganda machinery of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), surrendered before security forces in June 2025. The duo were active Naxalites for nearly two decades and held major roles in the Maad division of the outlawed CPI (Maoist).
Similarly, in April this year, 33 Maoists/Naxalites surrendered in the Sukma district. These Naxalites carried a collective reward of Rs 49 lakh. 11 of these were active in Sukma’s Badesetti. After their surrender, Badesetti was officially declared the first Naxal-free gram panchayat of the Bastar division.
On July 5, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai emphasised that the state will soon be free from Naxal violence, and the affected areas will have all the necessary facilities, including roads and electricity.
“Our state is rich in every sense. About 44 per cent of the land is forested. The soil is fertile, and our farmers are hardworking. Naxalism was a major obstacle to our progress, but we are overcoming it. For those Naxals who have surrendered, we have designed an excellent rehabilitation policy. Soon, Chhattisgarh will be free from Naxal violence, and regions like Bastar will have roads, electricity, drinking water, and all basic amenities,” CM Sai said.
As per an official statement from the government of India, in 2024 alone, 290 Naxals were neutralised, 1,090 arrested, and 881 surrendered. Major recent operations in March 2025 saw 50 Naxals surrender in Bijapur, 16 neutralised in Sukma, and 22 others neutralised in Kanker and Bijapur. With continued support through Special Central Assistance and targeted development, the government is on track to eliminate Naxalism by March 31, 2026.
In Maharashtra’s Gadhchiroli, 12 hardcore Naxalites carrying a cumulative reward of Rs 1 crore laid down their arms and surrendered before the security forces in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in June this year.
The Maharashtra CM highlighted that in the past 18 months, 28 Maoists had been killed, 31 arrested, and 44 surrendered in the state.
In Gadhchiroli, a region once under heavy dominance of the violent Naxalites, the local police have set up 71 libraries across the district under the ‘One Village, One Library’ initiative, aimed at countering Naxal influence by providing youth with education and employment opportunities.
The initiative, launched on January 18, 2023, began in Kotgul, a remote village near the Chhattisgarh border. It aims to establish one library in each village under the jurisdiction of a police station or outpost. The authorities aim to counter the Naxalite efforts to lure youngsters into Maoist terrorism.
On 10th July 2025, the Maharashtra government introduced a law Maharashtra Public Security Bill 2024 to check the spread of Maoist ideology in the state.
The Bill was presented in the Assembly after being reviewed by a 25-member Joint Committee headed by Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and included several senior leaders. CM Fadnavis said that the Bill has been finalised after considering the suggestions from the public.
Left-wing nearing its eradication
The menace of Naxalism is nearing its end in the country after the consistent efforts of the government and the security forces. The Maoist cadres are staring at an inevitable end with dwindling numbers of foot soldiers and depleting leadership as a result of collaborative efforts of the central forces and the state police.
The Indian government has resolved to uproot Naxalism from the country by March 2026. To achieve this end, the government has adopted an aggressive military approach to counter Naxal terrorism, which entered its last phase under Operation Kagar, which was launched by the government in January 2024.
Under the operation, around 1 lakh para-military troops, including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its elite CoBRA units, District Reserve Guards DRG), and state police, equipped with modern technology, have been deployed in the left-wing terrorism affected areas to uproot the naxal terrorism from its last remaining strongholds completely. Since the inception of the operation, the security forces have eliminated over 400 Naxal terrorists so far, while more than 800 Maoists have surrendered.
From 2019 to 2025, the central forces, in collaboration with state police, have established a total of 320 camps in Naxal-affected states, including 68 night-landing helipads. The number of fortified police stations, which was 66 in 2014, has now increased to 555.
In May 2025, the security forces registered a massive win in their fight against left-wing terrorism, as they eliminated top Maoist terrorist Nambala Keshav Rao, also known as Basavaraju. The Maoist leader was killed in an encounter in the Abujhmadh forests of Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district.
Basavaraju was among the 26 Naxal terrorists killed by the security forces on the 21st of May 2025. Basavaraju, the general secretary of the banned outfit Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). The 70-year-old Maoist leader was among India’s most wanted Maoist leaders and had a bounty of Rs 1.5 crore on his head. He was behind the 2010 Chintalnar massacre of 76 CRPF jawans and the 2013 attack in Jhiram Ghati, wherein several Congress leaders were killed.
With Basavaraju’s killing, Abujhmadh, the last fortress of Naxalites, also fell after 40 years. Unsurprisingly, Basavaraju’s killing caused a severe meltdown among the left liberal ecosystem.
Earlier, security forces conducted ‘Operation Black Forest’ to break the backbone of Naxals near Karreguttalu Hill (KGH) at the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border. The 21-day-long operation carried out by the joint forces of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police between April 21 and May 11 neutralised 31 Naxals carrying a bounty of Rs 1.72 crore. A total of 214 Naxal hideouts and bunkers were destroyed in the operation, and a total of 450 IEDs, 818 BGL shells, 899 bundles of Codex, detonators and a huge amount of explosive material have been recovered during the searches.
The Modi government’s four-pronged approach of targeting and neutralising Naxal leaders, disrupting their funding, promoting development in LWE-affected areas, and encouraging surrenders. The effective implementation of this multi-faceted strategy has yielded positive results for the country, bringing India closer to the absolute end of the menace of Naxal/Maoist/Left-wing terrorism by 31st March 2026.
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