Nine Maoist worth Rs 45 lakh surrender in Gariyaband district of Raipur range, ex-cadre's lead unearths cache of arms

RAIPUR: Nine Maoists carrying a cumulative bounty of ₹45 lakh surrendered with weapons in Chhattisgarh’s Gariyaband district on Monday, marking a breakthrough for security forces in Raipur range’s intensified anti-Naxal drive.

The surrender was immediately followed by actionable intelligence, leading to the recovery of hidden weapon dumps in Gariyaband and Dhamtari, Raipur range IGP Amresh Mishra said. IGP Mishra said the nine cadres — six of them women — turned themselves in with firearms, and their disclosures triggered swift follow-up operations. On Tuesday, district police teams, including E-30 and the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), launched searches in the Rakshapathra forest area in Shobha region, about 65 km southeast of Gariyaband district headquarters. The joint team recovered one AK-47 rifle and one 12-bore weapon concealed near a rocky outcrop on a hill, IGP Mishra added. In a parallel operation in Dhamtari district, inputs from a former woman Maoist carrying a ₹5 lakh reward who had surrendered earlier led the DRG to another arms cache. A special search in the Daudpandri Pani forest unearthed weapons buried underground and camouflaged with leaves and natural material.

From the spot, teams recovered one SLR (7.62 mm automatic rifle), two empty magazines, one 12-bore weapon and one bharmaar, police said. Police said these recoveries have dealt a direct blow to Maoist armed capability in the Raipur Range and have strengthened local security.According to Raipur IG, the surrendering group belonged to the Sinapali and Sonabeda–Dharambandha–Kholibatar (SDK) area committees operating along the Chhattisgarh–Odisha corridor. Among them were Anju alias Kavita, Baldev alias Wamanwatti, Damru alias Mahadev, and Soni alias Budri — each carrying an ₹8 lakh reward. Ranjit alias Govind and Parvati alias Sukki Karam carried ₹5 lakh each, while Sarupa, Ratna and Navita carried ₹1 lakh each, taking the total bounty to ₹45 lakh. Police said the cadres deposited firearms at the time of surrender, and cited disillusionment with Maoist ideology and the hardships of forest life as reasons for laying down arms.