Biggest Maoist surrender in Jharkhand as 27 extremists lay down arms
Ranchi, May 21: In the biggest mass surrender in Jharkhand’s history, 27 Maoists, including hardcore commanders carrying cash rewards, surrendered before the…
Ranchi, May 21: In the biggest mass surrender in Jharkhand’s history, 27 Maoists, including hardcore commanders carrying cash rewards, surrendered before the Jharkhand Police on Thursday under “Operation Navjeevan”. The surrender took place at the police headquarters in Ranchi in the presence of DGP Tadasha Mishra, senior police officers, CRPF officials and Jharkhand Jaguar personnel.
The group included 25 CPI (Maoist) members active in the Saranda and Kolhan regions of West Singhbhum district and two cadres of the banned Jharkhand Janmukti Parishad (JJMP) from Gumla district.
Rewarded Maoists among those who surrendered
Police said eight surrendered Maoists carried rewards on their heads, including six cadres with bounties of Rs 5 lakh each, one carrying Rs 2 lakh, and a woman cadre with a reward of Rs 1 lakh.
According to officials, the surrendered extremists were linked to 426 serious criminal cases involving murder, attacks on security forces, extortion, landmine blasts and other Maoist activities.
The surrendered group included six Special Zonal Committee Members (SZCMs), six Area Committee Members (ACMs) and 13 active squad members. Key names include Gadi Munda alias Gulshan, Nagendra Munda alias Prabhat Munda, Rekha Munda alias Jayanti, Sagen Angaria alias Dokol, Suleman Hansda alias Suni Hansda and JJMP member Sachin Bek.
Several women cadres, including Vandana alias Shanti, Sunita Sardar, Sapna alias Suru Kalundia and Anisha Koda alias Rani, also returned to the mainstream.
Huge cache of arms and ammunition recovered
The Maoists deposited a large quantity of weapons and ammunition during the surrender. The recovered arms included one LMG INSAS, four INSAS rifles, nine SLRs, a bolt-action rifle, a pistol, 31 magazines, nearly 3,000 live cartridges and eight walkie-talkies.
Police officials said continuous anti-Naxal operations, increasing pressure from security forces and the state government’s surrender and rehabilitation policy played a major role in convincing the cadres to abandon violence.
Security operations intensified in Saranda and Kolhan
Jharkhand Police, along with CRPF COBRA units and Jharkhand Jaguar, has intensified anti-Maoist operations across the state. So far in 2026, security forces have arrested 44 Maoists, while 22 have been killed in encounters.
To strengthen security in Maoist-affected areas, 21 new security camps, including Advance Camp Locations (ACLs) and Forward Operating Bases (FOBs), have been established in the Saranda region.
Officials said the surrender of local Maoist cadres from West Singhbhum and Giridih districts is expected to weaken CPI (Maoist) activities significantly in Jharkhand, especially in the Kolhan and Saranda belt.
The surrendered cadres will receive financial assistance and rehabilitation benefits under the Jharkhand government’s surrender policy, with additional incentives for depositing weapons.
