Articles by Mehul Malpani

Technology

Woman Maoist surrenders in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat, first since State’s new rehabilitation policy

A 23-year-old woman Maoist has surrendered in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district, the first such case in the State since the introduction of its new rehabilitation policy launched in August 2023, officers said. Sunita, a resident of Bhairamgarh tehsil of Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district and a member of the GRB (Gondia, Rajanandgaon Balaghat) division of the Maoists, surrendered at the Chauriya camp of Madhya Pradesh’s anti-naxal Hawk Force on Saturday (November 1, 2025) night. The GRB division is a part of the MMC (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh) zone. Hawk Force Commandant Shiyaz K.M. told The Hindu that Ms. Sunita had arrived at the camp without any arms and expressed her wish to surrender. “Today, she took a team to her hideout deep into the forest to help us recover her arms and ammunition,” Mr. Shiyaz said, adding that an INSAS rifle, three magazines, and a UBGL shell were recovered from the hideout. Maoist leader’s bodyguard Mr. Shiyaz said that Ms. Sunita carried a reward of ₹14 lakh for her capture, including ₹6 lakh in Maharashtra and ₹3 lakh in Chhattisgarh. She was a bodyguard to senior Maoist leader and Central Committee Member (CCM) Ramder. “She was an ACM (Area Committee Member) and a crucial part of Ramder’s team. As per our information, Ramder along with more than 10 Maoists entered Balaghat in February this year and have been hiding here ever since,” the officer said, adding that the Hawk Force hopes for more Maoists to follow suit in the region. Another senior officer of the Hawk Force said that Ms. Sunita had separated from her group a couple of days ago and hid in the forest before arriving at Chauriya camp to surrender. “We are interrogating her to get information on her group members and if more people want to lay down their arms,” the officer said, requesting anonymity. New rehab pathways Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that the surrender was a result of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s “stern warning” to the Maoists as well as recent actions by the M.P. police. “This is the first surrender of any Naxalite under the Madhya Pradesh Surrender, Rehabilitation cum Relief Policy, 2023. This is also the first time since 1992 that a Naxalite belonging to another State has surrendered before the Madhya Pradesh government. In this year, we have eliminated 10 Naxalites carrying a cumulative reward of more than ₹1.5 crore,” Mr. Yadav said in a video statement. The Chief Minister added said that the State Government has opened rehabilitation pathways for Maoists who are willing to surrender. “They are either being eliminated or they are surrendering. Only a handful of Naxalites are left now and we hope that our strict action will have an impact on them too very soon,” he said.