Twenty-six Maoists, including three allegedly involved in ambushes that killed 56 jawans, surrendered before police in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district as part of the ongoing ‘Poona Margham’ campaign aimed at persuading rebels to lay down arms.
With these surrenders, police claim that the dreaded Battalion 1 of the Maoist armed wing, the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), has been all but pushed out of Sukma. The development comes as security forces continue to push into Maoist strongholds in a bid to meet the Centre’s March 2026 deadline to wipe out the insurgency.
On Wednesday, 26 Maoists — including seven women — surrendered before police under ‘Poona Margham’, Gondi for ‘New Path’. The campaign involves persuading cadres of the banned outfit to surrender by appealing through their families.
According to police, while the 26 surrendered from different Maoist units, they did not bring their weapons fearing reprisals. Police said several belonged to Battalion 1 and operated in South Bastar, Abujhmad and the Andhra-Odisha Border zones.
With these surrenders, police claim that barely 20 armed cadres from the Darbha and Jagargunda divisions remain in Sukma.
“All the surrendered Maoists will get Rs 50,000 now as relief and in near future they will also receive the cumulative reward of Rs 64 lakh which was declared as reward by government on their arrest,” Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.
According to police, at least three of the surrendered Maoists were part of ambushes that killed 56 security personnel.
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Among them are Lali alias Muchaki Ayte, an active cadre and deputy commander in Company 3 with a bounty of Rs 10 lakh; Hemla Lakhma, a platoon commander active since 2011 with a bounty of Rs 8 lakh; and Muchaki Sandeep alias Hidma, an Area Committee Member (ACM) and Local Organisation Squad (LOS) commander carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh.
While Lakhma was allegedly involved in the 2017 IED blast on Koraput road (Sonabeda) that killed 14 security personnel, he was also accused of being part of the 2020 Maoist ambush in Minpa forest that killed 17 police personnel. Muchaki Sandeep alias Hidma was accused of involvement in the 2021 Tekulagudem ambush in which 22 jawans were killed and the 2023 Jagargunda ambush that left three personnel dead.
The insurgents’ territory has shrunk in Sukma, Chavan said, adding: “The remaining members of the Battalion have taken shelter in Karegutta hills near Telangana-Bijapur border”.
