16 Maoists including 2 PGLA members surrender in Chhattisgarh's Sukma
BASTAR: Sixteen Maoists who had a collective bounty of ₹25 lakh surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, police said on Monday.
Sukma superintendent of police (SP) Kiran G Chavan said nine of the 16 Maoists who surrendered were from Kerlapenda village panchayat under Chintalanar police station limits.
With their surrender, the village has become free of Maoists and will receive ₹1 crore for development funds under a new scheme of the state government, Chavan said.
The district police chief said the surrenders come in the wake of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) intensifying operations against the Maoists in the region.
'These 16 naxals had a combined bounty of ₹25 lakh on them. Among them were naxals from battalions and other divisions, including some from Odisha…,' he said.
A statement issued by the Sukma police said the 16 includes two senior cadres – Rita alias Dodi Sukki (36), a woman who was an active member of the central regional committee (CRC) company number 2 of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PGLA), and Rahul Punem (18), a member of PLGA battalion no. 1 of Maoists. The two carried a reward of ₹8 lakh each, it added.
The surrendered Maoists are being given financial assistance of ₹50,000 each, and will be rehabilitated in line with the state government's policy.
The development came days after security forces killed top Maoist leader Nambala Keshav Rao or Basavaraju and dismantled what the authorities described as the unified headquarters of several Maoist formations in an operation titled Black Forest, which concluded on May 11.
According to government data, 401 Maoists have been killed in the state while 1,355 surrendered between December 1, 2023, and May 21, 2025.
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