Top Maoist Leader Suresh Surrenders in Andhra, Major Blow to Naxal Movement

Senior Maoist leader Chelluri Narayana Rao, also known as Suresh, who was a Central Committee Member and Secretary of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee, surrendered before the Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police.

He had been associated with the CPI (Maoist) for nearly 36 years and held key positions within the organisation. Along with him, eight other Maoist cadres also laid down arms before the police.

Meanwhile, Amit Shah, on several occasions, has affirmed the Centre's commitment to uprooting Naxalism by March 31, 2026.

In the last one year, several Maoist leaders have surrendered, giving up arms and accepting the mainstream. Among these, the latest was one of the most wanted Maoist leaders, Sukru, along with four others surrendering before the Odisha Police on March 25.

ADG (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sanjeev Panda said that the Maoists carried a cumulative bounty of Rs 66 lakh. They had also surrendered five weapons, including one AK-47 gun, one INSAS gun, and one single-shot gun

"Now the Maoist number is very limited to single digits, only 8-9 are left in Kandhamal district. In the coming days, we will intensify our anti-Naxal operations) operation so that we get some result by the target date, which is March 31. I appeal to the remaining Maoists to surrender before the police, and I assure them that we will extend all the surrender policies to them," ADG (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sanjeev Panda said.

In Chattisgarh's Bastar region, which is part of the infamous Dandakaranya forest belt known to be one of the epicentres of the Naxal movement, the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) member and South Sub Zonal Bureau in-charge Pappa Rao, along with 17 other Maoist cadres, surrendered on March 17, IG Bastar P Sundarraj said.

"For the first time in the history of the Maoist movement in Dandakaranya, the Naxal outfit has effectively become leaderless," IG P Sundarraj said.

Rehabilitation and bringing the Naxal cadre into the mainstream have been the key to the recent mass surrenders, including by several CPI (Maoist) top leaders.

- ANI