Twelve hard-core Maoists, including core divisional committee member-cum wife of a senior Maoist leader and three senior cadre functionaries, surrendered before Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the naxalite-infested Gadchiroli in eastern Maharashtra on Friday.
The 12 surrendered Maoists were carrying a total cash reward of `1.12 crore announced by the Maharashtra Government on their heads.
The surrendered Maoists comprised Sapanakka, a divisional committee member and wife Maoist leader Geereddy Pavanananda Reddy, three senior cadre Maoists, one Commander, two Dy Commanders, four assistant commanders and one party member.
For the first time, two hardcore Maoists surrendered in uniform with automatic AK-47 rifles and other weapons in the presence of the Chief Minister.
At a function held on the occasion, a total of 13 Maoist couples, including Giridhar (in charge of Gadchiroli Divisional Committee) and Lalita, got married in the chief minister’s presence.
After blessing the surrendered Maoist couple at the mass marriage ceremony, Fadnavis said: “They once carried weapons…now they will start families”.
Donning traditional Adivasi headgear, Fadnavis interacted with locals at the Kawande outpost along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border.
Earlier, at the Gadchiroli district police headquarters, the chief minister felicitated the officers and personnel of Gadchiroli police, C-60 commando team of Anti-Naxalite Operations and Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Announcing that the Maoist menace would be eliminated by March 31, 2026, the chief minister said: “We have removed the security vacuum…we have established our dominance. During 2024-28, 28 Naxalites have been neutralised, 31 have been arrested while 44 have surrendered”.
The chief minister inaugurated a series of developmental projects in Gadchiroli, aimed at transforming the region’s economic and social landscape. These included industrial plants, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities.
Fadnavis also launched a green mining initiative to promote sustainable practices and announced plans for Gondwana University to collaborate with an Australian university to offer mining-related courses. These projects, with a total investment of `6,200 crore, are expected to generate over 4,000 jobs.
During the event, essential items were distributed to citizens present. The items distributed included spray pumps, large cooking utensils, musical instruments, sewing machines, blankets, lower-T-shirts, sarees, and footwear for women also school students received bicycles, pens, notebooks, school bags, cricket kits, volleyballs with nets, clothes, compasses, chocolates and biscuits.
In his interaction with the villagers, the chief minister reiterated the state government’s commitment to bring about all-round development of the region including construction of roads, bridges and mobile towers.
Earlier in the day, Fadnavis flagged off the campaign for ‘jal, jangal, jameen’ rights of the Adivasi community on a RSS platform in Nagpur, Fadnavis said: “We are undertaken development initiatives in Gadchiroli as a multi-pronged strategy... As a first step, we are enhancing the security environment, secondly, we are boosting development, thirdly, we are bringing in industries and companies, fourthly, generating employment for locals, and, finally, we are taking care of the ‘jal, jangal, jameen’ rights of the people”.