From guns to groceries: Former Maoist couple hosts CM Sai at village store

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai visited a grocery shop run by a surrendered Maoist couple in Bijapur, highlighting successful rehabilitation efforts. After leaving the insurgency in 2025, the pair received government support, training and loans to build a new life

Bijapur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday visited a grocery shop run by a couple at Kondapalli village in Bijapur district, bringing attention to the transformation the end of Maoism has brought about.

Masa Tamo and his wife Jaymoti, who greeted him standing behind the counter, were until last year associated with the Maoist movement.

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The chief minister was visiting the remote forest village under the state’s ongoing ‘Sushasan Tihar’ (good governance festival). On his way to attend a village chaupal (public interaction programme), he halted his convoy in front of the shop.

Sai stepped inside, spoke with the couple about their journey back to mainstream society and purchased a bottle of water from the store, a government official said.

Encouraging the couple, the chief minister said self-reliance was the strongest symbol of a new beginning. Masa Tamo grew up amid poverty and hardship and lost his father at an early age. With little access to education and few opportunities, he joined the Maoist organisation in 2007.

Jaymoti, who was orphaned in childhood, too found herself drawn into the insurgent movement. The two met while working within the organisation and married in 2021.

After spending years in the outlawed movement, the couple was convinced that the path of violence offered little hope. In October 2025, they surrendered before security forces, the official said.

At the Bijapur Rehabilitation Centre, both received education for the first time in their lives. They were also enrolled in skill-development programmes.

Officials helped them obtain essential documents including Aadhaar cards, ration cards, Ayushman cards, MGNREGA job cards, caste certificates and bank accounts.

After Jaymoti received a loan of Rs 1 lakh under the Women and Child Development Department’s Saksham Yojana, the couple opened the grocery shop using the money, the official said.

“We never imagined our lives could change so much,” the couple told the CM. “Masa and Jaymoti’s story is not just a story of two individuals. It is the story of a changing Bastar,” Sai said during the interaction.

It shows that when people are given opportunities, trust and support, they can return to the mainstream and lead a dignified life, the CM said. Chhattisgarh was declared free from armed Maoists on March 31 this year.