Thirty-seven Naxalites surrender in Dantewada; 27 carried Rs 65 lakh bounty

Thirty-seven Naxalites, including 27 carrying a collective reward of Rs 65 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada on Sunday. Officials said the ongoing Poona Margem initiative has prompted over 2,200 Naxalites to give up arms in the last 23 months

Dantewada (Chhattisgarh): Thirty-seven Naxalites, 27 of them collectively carrying a reward of Rs 65 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on Sunday, police said.

The cadres, including 12 women, turned themselves in before senior police and CRPF officials here as part of the “Poona Margem” (from rehabilitation to social reintegration) initiative, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai said.

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The initiative, launched by the Bastar range police, has emerged as a transformative drive to establish lasting peace, dignity, and comprehensive progress in the Bastar region, he said.

The key cadres among those who surrendered include Kumali alias Anita Mandavi, Geeta alias Lakshmi Madkam, Ranjan alias Soma Mandavi, and Bhima alias Jahaj Kalmu. All of them carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh each, the official said.

Under the government‘s rehabilitation policy, the cadres who have surrendered will be provided instant assistance of Rs 50,000 each, along with other facilities such as training for skill development, agricultural land, etc., he said.

Inspired by the surrender and rehabilitation policies of the Centre and the State government, more than 508 Maoists, 165 of them carrying a reward, have quit violence and joined the social mainstream in Dantewada district over the past 20 months, the official said.

A large number of Maoists, from senior leaders to active cadres in their base areas, have left the outlawed organisation, Rai said. In the last 23 months, more than 2,200 Naxalites, including top cadres, have surrendered in Chhattisgarh, according to police.

The Centre has resolved to eliminate Naxalism from the country by March 2026.