Maoist Leader Anant Surrenders: How 16 Cadres Abandoned Armed Struggle

Accompanying him were 15 cadres, including two who were injured and ailing, now receiving immediate medical aid at a local hospital, police officials said.

Anant, a 48-year-old key propagandist with a Rs 10 lakh bounty, had just days ago penned a desperate open letter to the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

In it, he pleaded for a temporary halt to anti-LWE operations until February 15, 2026 -- or at least January 1 -- allowing dispersed cadres to regroup and surrender en-masse under rehabilitation schemes.

The missive, circulated via pamphlets, also urged comrades to coordinate via a Baofeng radio frequency of 435.715 MHz, with daily check-ins from 11 am to 11.15 pm through December.

This follows Anant's earlier circular, claiming "hundreds" in the MMC zone would lay down arms collectively on New Year's Day, framing it not as capitulation but a tactical "Poonamargam" (path of rehabilitation).

Security sources said relentless operations, including drone surveillance and surrenders of over 500 cadres across the tri-junction this year, eroded morale.

"Anant's defection is a psychological hammer blow; he was the voice of the zone," said Gondia SP Nikhil Ulmale, who received the group alongside Collector Prajit Nair.

The surrender occurred amid heightened alerts, with CRPF and state forces securing the handover.

The group, active in Balaghat-Rajnandgaon-Gondia forests, cited disillusionment with Maoist ideology's "inhuman" toll and the outfit's internal fractures, including recent neutralisations like Basavaraju in May.

In a parallel triumph, barely hours later in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, dreaded Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) commander Chaitu alias Shyam Dada (63), mastermind of the 2013 Jhiram Ghati massacre that killed 29 Congress leaders, surrendered in Sukma with nine associates.

Carrying a Rs 25 lakh reward, Chaitu -- long heading the Darbha division -- joined a separate haul of ten cadres (total bounty Rs 65 lakh), including Divisional Committee Member Saroj (Rs 8 lakh) and several Area Committee Members.

Sukma SP Kiran Chavan hailed it as proof of Maoism's "rapid decline," attributing it to District Reserve Guard (DRG) offensives and development drives like Niyad Nellanar Yojana, now reaching 67 former Naxal villages.

Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai termed both events "historic milestones" toward a LWE-free India by 2026.

Under the state's 2025 Surrender Policy, all 26 will receive Rs 2.5 lakh cash, housing, and skill training.

Officials anticipate a domino effect, with intelligence suggesting 200 more MMC cadres mulling surrender by year-end.

This dual capitulation underscores 2025's toll: 290 neutralised, 1,090 arrested, and 881 surrendered nationwide, per MHA data. Yet, Maoist hardliners' recent calls for "fight till last breath" during PLGA Week (December 2-8) highlight lingering defiance amid the outfit's existential crisis.

- IANS