RAJNANDGAON, Dec 8 : Maoist Central Committee (MCC) member Ramdher alias Deu Majji, his wife, and 10 other Naxalites surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district on Monday, officials said.
The surrendered cadres, including six women, carried a collective bounty of Rs 2.95 crore. They handed over 10 weapons, including three AK-47 rifles, three INSAS rifles, two .303 rifles, a Self-Loading Rifle (SLR) and a carbine gun, a police official said.
Majji, who goes by the aliases Horupu and Amarjeet, was working as a Central Committee Member of the MMC Zone, Gadhchiroli (Maharashtra). He carried a reward of Rs 1.05 crore on his head. His wife Anita, alias Lalita, alias Jaini, is a Divisional Committee (DVCM) member.
The surrendered Naxalites include four members of the Divisional Committee, four Party Members, and two Area Committee Members (ACM).
Among them, the four DVCMs carried a reward of Rs 33 lakh each, two ACMs carried a bounty of Rs 14 lakh each, and four Party Members a reward of Rs 6 lakh each, officials said.
All the surrendered Naxalites were associated with the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh (MMC) Zone, they said.
Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai stated that the two years of the Chhattisgarh government’s tenure have proven to be a turning point in the history of the state.
He said Chhattisgarh is rapidly progressing toward the goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to eradicate Naxalism from the country by March 31, 2026.
He stated that Naxalism has broken and is now breathing its last.
“Security forces have achieved unprecedented success in the past two years. More than 500 Maoists have been neutralised in encounters, while over 4,000 Naxalites have surrendered or been arrested, a clear sign of the weakening of Naxalism,” Sai said.
He said that the valour of the security forces has led to a decisive breakthrough against decades-old violence in Bastar.
The state government’s new rehabilitation policy for surrendered Naxalites includes approval for 15,000 houses under Prime Minister’s Housing Schemes, monthly financial assistance of Rs 10,000 for three years, skill development training, and employment programmes.
“Leaving the language of gunfire and joining the mainstream” is now becoming a reality in Bastar, he said, citing innovative initiatives such as the Pandum Café run by surrendered cadres.
Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who also holds the Home portfolio, said special zonal committee members from the MMC zone have joined the mainstream in different states.
Now, the MMC zone, covering parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, is almost free from the Maoist menace, he said.
Four central committee members, including Sujatha (in Telangana), Bhupathi (in Maharashtra) and Rupesh (in Chhattisgarh), have surrendered this year, he said.
Maoists’ general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju (70) and nine central committee members were killed in separate encounters in different states so far this year. (PTI)
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