Two Maoists surrender in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat; police claim region now Naxal free

Two wanted Maoists carrying a cumulative reward of ₹43 lakh surrendered on Thursday (December 11, 2025) in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh. Police say that with this, the region was free of Maoists.

The development comes just days after 10 Maoists laid down their arms at a ceremony attended by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in Balaghat.

Deepak alias Chhota Deepak and Rohit surrendered at a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp at Korka in Lanji area of the district, Shiyaz K.M., Commandant of the elite police unit, the Hawk Force, told The Hindu.

Mr. Shiyaz stated that the two individuals were part of the GRB (Gondia, Rajnandgaon, Balaghat) Division of the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) Special Zone of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and operated with the Malajkhand Dalam group. 

Last of active Maoists

While Deepak was an additional committee member (ACM) of the CPI (M), Rohit was a regular cadre, and both worked with Ramder alias Soma, a senior Maoist leader and a central committee member (CCM) who surrendered in Chhattisgarh on Monday, he said.

“Before Ramder’s surrender, the two parted ways as they wanted to surrender here in Balaghat. Deepak was the last of three active Maoists who hail from the district and was also their local support, as he has family here. The other two have already surrendered in Chhattisgarh,” Mr. Shiyaz said, adding that there is no active Maoist left in the region. 

Deepak is a resident of Palagondi in Balaghat, he said. While he carried a reward of ₹29 lakh for information on him, Rohit had a bounty of ₹14 lakh on him.

Earlier on December 7, 10 Maoists of the KB (Kanha-Bhoramdeo) Division, including four women, surrendered arms before Mr. Yadav, who in turn handed them copies of the Constitution. The 10 carried a cumulative bounty of ₹2.36 crore.