Nine Naxalites, Including 36-Year Veteran of CPI(M), Surrender Before Andhra Pradesh Police

Senior Central Committee member Suresh, carrying a bounty of ₹25 lakh, gives up arms along with eight cadres from Chhattisgarh as the March 31 deadline closes in

A Senior Commander Steps Out

A senior Maoist commander with nearly four decades inside one of India's most feared insurgent outfits walked out of the jungle on Sunday and surrendered before the Director General of Police in Andhra Pradesh — marking one of the most significant individual capitulations in the recent crackdown on Left Wing Extremism.

Chelluri Narayan Rao, known within CPI (Maoist) circles as Suresh, was the Secretary of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) and a member of the Central Committee. He had been active in the organisation for approximately 36 years. He was accompanied by eight other cadres, taking the total reward value of the surrendering group to ₹48 lakh.

Who Are the Nine Naxalites?

Eight of the nine individuals who surrendered hail from Sukma and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh. They were active across various units including the PLGA battalion, area committees, and local guerrilla formations. The state government's surrender and rehabilitation policy entitles them to reward money and other assistance aimed at reintegrating former cadres into civilian life.

Suresh himself carried a declared bounty of ₹25 lakh. Among others in the group, Kartam Lachhu had a reward of ₹5 lakh, while Kartam Adame alias Nangi, Muchaki Masa alias Ajit, Podiyam Raje, and Madvi Jogi each had ₹4 lakh on their heads. Muchaki Laxman, Madivi Adama, and Kaditi Hurre each carried a reward of ₹1 lakh. All nine were handed ₹20,000 each as immediate relief upon surrender.

A History of Violence

According to Andhra Pradesh Police, Suresh was no passive functionary. He is believed to have had a role in the 2018 killings of Andhra Pradesh MLA Kidari Sarveshwara Rao and former legislator Siveri Someshwara Rao. He is also said to have participated in multiple ambushes and attacks on security personnel over the years. His surrender, police officials noted, effectively removes one of the last remaining senior-most operational links in the AOBSZC's command structure.

Why They Chose to Walk Away

The surrendering cadres cited a combination of factors for their decision. The deaths and arrests of several top Maoist leaders, shrinking public support for the armed movement, and the government's structured rehabilitation framework — which offers financial aid, housing, and educational support — all played a role, according to officials present at the surrender. Along with themselves, the group handed over a cache of weapons including one INSAS rifle, five .303 rifles, and six single-shot rifles.

Bastar's Last Big Commander Had Already Fallen

Sunday's development followed a significant surrender five days earlier. On March 25, a major Naxal cadre identified as Paparao — described as the last significant fighting commander in the West Bastar Division — surrendered before security forces in Jagdalpur, handing over weapons as part of the state government's Poona Margem rehabilitation initiative. Paparao, 56, a resident of Sukma district, was a member of the DKSZCM and served as in-charge of the West Bastar Division Committee. He arrived with 18 companions, including 10 men and eight women. The group surrendered eight AK-47s, one SLR, one INSAS rifle, and other arms, along with ₹12 lakh in cash.

With Paparao's exit, security officials say the West Bastar Division Committee of the Maoists has effectively ceased to exist as an operational force.

The Bigger Picture: A Movement in Freefall

Over the past 26 months, more than 2,714 Maoist cadres have returned to the mainstream across Chhattisgarh — a rate of surrender unprecedented in six decades of the insurgency. In 2025 alone, more than 1,500 Naxalites laid down their arms.

Since January 2024, 2,100 Naxalites have surrendered, 1,785 have been arrested, and 477 have been eliminated. Senior commanders of the calibre of Madvi Hidma and the organisation's secretary Basavaraj were neutralised in encounters last year, gutting the command structure that once directed operations across the Red Corridor.

State officials have indicated that nearly 96 per cent of Bastar's geographical area is now free from Naxal influence, and that no DKSZC-rank active Maoists remain operational in the state.

What Comes Next

The government's self-imposed deadline to dismantle armed Naxalism expires on March 31, 2026 — a date that now sits just hours away. With a week to the deadline, five of the eight districts that continued to face the Naxal menace were in Chhattisgarh — Bijapur, Sukma, Narayanpur, Kanker, and Dantewada. Security deployments in these areas remain heavy.

Plans are underway to convert nearly 400 security camps — once the operational pivot of the anti-Maoist campaign — into public infrastructure including schools, hospitals, and centres for processing minor forest produce. The transition signals a deliberate shift from counter-insurgency to development as the state looks to consolidate gains made on the ground.

For now, the surrender of Suresh and his eight companions adds to a tally that would have seemed implausible even two years ago.