25 Maoists, Including 5 High-Profile Leaders, Surrender in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur

 

In a significant blow to the Maoist terrorism in Chhattisgarh, 25 Maoists, including five with a combined bounty of Rs 28 lakh, surrendered to the authorities on Monday.

 

Among the surrendering Maoists, two women—Shambati Madkam (23) and Jyoti Punem (27)—and Mahesh Telam were prominent figures in Company No. 2 of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist). Each of them had a bounty of Rs 8 lakh on their heads.

 

Shambati Madkam, active since 2012, was allegedly involved in the 2020 Minpa ambush in Sukma, where 17 security personnel lost their lives, as well as the 2021 Tekulagudem attack in Bijapur, which resulted in the deaths of 22 security personnel.

 

Jyoti Punem and Mahesh Telam were reportedly involved in an encounter in Pidia village, Bijapur, in May this year, during which 12 Maoists were gunned down.

 

Other key figures among those who surrendered include Vishnu Kartam alias Monu (29), the section deputy commander of Platoon No. 16 'B', with a bounty of Rs 3 lakh, and Jaidev Podiam (18), a member of the Mirtur Local Organisation Squad (LOS) of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), with a bounty of Rs 1 lakh. Two additional surrendering Maoists, Guddu Kakem (20) and Sudru Punem (32), carried rewards of Rs 10,000 each on their heads.

 

The surrender of these Maoists, who were active in the Gangloor and Bhairamgarh area committees, was attributed to their disillusionment with the hollow ideology of the Maoist movement and the atrocities inflicted on tribals by the Maoist leadership.

 

The police provided each surrendering Maoist with financial assistance of Rs 25,000 and assured them further rehabilitation under the government's surrender and rehabilitation policy.

 

 

This mass surrender comes shortly after Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Chhattisgarh, during which he held meetings with officials from seven states to strategize on Maoist eradication. In these meetings, Shah had issued a stern warning to the Maoists, urging them to surrender or face severe consequences.