Only 2 Districts Still Labelled LWE-Affected
With this, only Bijapur in Chhattisgarh and West Singhbhum in Jharkhand remain categorised as Maoist-affected districts across the country. On Tuesday, at least 35 insurgents surrendered across five Bastar districts — 25 in Bijapur, five in Dantewada, two each in Sukma and Kanker, and one in Narayanpur — as security forces tightened pressure on Maoist networks. Nine more Maoists crossed the Indravati river from Chhattisgarh forests into Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli and surrendered with weapons and explosives.Security forces found 93 weapons, over 7kg of gold and Rs 2.9 crore cash from Maoist dumps in Bijapur alone, with the total haul valued at more than Rs 14 crore. In Dantewada, five cadres linked to the Dandakaranya special zonal committee surrendered. Police said intelligence provided by them led to the seizure of 40 weapons, including SLR and Insas rifles. SP Gaurav Rai said the surrender of “last five active Maoists” had rendered the district Naxal-free.
29 Naxal cadres give up arms in 3 Chhattisgarh districts
Bijapur police reported the surrender of 25 cadres, including members of area committees, alongside confiscation of weapons such as AK-47s. In Sukma, two women carrying rewards of Rs 8 lakh each surrendered. Forces seized Rs 10 lakh cash and rifles. SP Kiran Chavan said the district’s Maoist network had been “nearly dismantled”.Kanker saw two surrenders with an AK-47 rifle. SP Nikhil Rakhecha said 11 cadres had returned to mainstream in six days, though about 14 Maoists, including divisional committee-level members Chander and Rupi, were still active.Around nine lower-rung cadres are believed to be active in Kandhamal forests. “They may either be neutralised or arrested,” ADG (anti-Naxal operations) Sanjeeb Panda added.
