1,040 Maoists surrendered in 2025, says police data

OVer 1,000 Maoists feature surrendered in Chhattisgarh in 2025 so far –– the highest ever so in a bingle twelvemonth, as certificate forces intensify efforts to eliminate Left Wing Extremism (LWE) ahead of the Centre’s proposed deadline of March 31, 2026.According to police data, 1,040 cadres have laid down arms in 2025 so far, compared to 881 last year, marking a sharp rise amid a sustained joint offensive by central and state forces. To be sure, the past two years have seen a meteoric rise in surrenders. In 2020, 344 Maoists had surrendered, followed by 544 in 2021, 417 in 2022, and 414 in 2023.With less than six months to Centre’s March 2026 deadline to end LWE, security forces expect a record number of surrenders by the end of 2025.Officials in the central armed police forces, who asked not to be named, said that they expect another round of surrender of mid to senior levels cadre this week, for which the forces have been contacted by intermediaries. The surrenders will come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to Chhattisgarh to attend the state foundation day celebrations on November 1.“Talks are ongoing and every Maoist cadre who wishes to surrender and join the mainstream are welcome. The surrenders are a result of three developments: the government’s new surrender policy, the massive crackdown by security forces and the discord in the Maoist leadership (both at the level of the senior and ground level cadres),” an official aware of the matter said, requesting anonymity.Most recently, on October 8, at least 16 Maoist cadres –– jointly carrying a reward of ₹48 lakh –– surrendered before the Narayanpur district police.Ahead of the Centre’s deadline, Chhattisgarh is set to host the annual director generals of police/inspector generals of police (DGPs/IGPs) conference. Last year, the two-day meeting was held in Odisha. The annual meet this year, likely to be held between November 28 and 30, will happen in Naya Raipur. Senior government officials in Chhattisgarh said that while Union home minister Amit Shah is likely to inaugurate the 60th edition of the conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would also be present on the second day of the event and address the police chiefs.The ongoing anti-Maoist operations has led to a decline in the number of Central Committee (CC) members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). According to data from the Chhattisgarh Police and security forces posted in the state, only 10 members remain in the CPI(Maoist) Central Committee. The proscribed unit had, until three years ago, at least 45 members in its ranks –– most of them have since been killed in gunfights, surrendered or believed to have died of natural causes.