Abujhmarh Now Naxal-Free’: Amit Shah Hails Surrender Of 170 Maoists In Chhattisgarh
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday declared the Abujhmarh forest area in Chhattisgarh’s North Bastar as “Naxal-free” following the surrender of 170 Maoists. Hailing the development as a major success in India’s fight against Left-Wing Extremism, Shah applauded the cadres for renouncing violence and reposing their faith in the Constitution.The mass surrender in the notorious Maoist stronghold is the latest in a series of significant blows to the insurgency. In the last two days alone, a total of 258 battle-hardened extremists have laid down their arms.
This includes 27 Maoists who surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Wednesday and another 61 cadres, led by senior CPI (Maoist) politburo member Mallojula Venugopal Rao, who surrendered in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli.”I applaud their decision to renounce violence, reposing their trust in the Constitution of India. It attests to the fact that Naxalism is breathing its last due to the relentless efforts of the PM @NarendraModi-led government to end the menace,” Shah wrote on X.
He reiterated his government’s twin policy: “Those who want to surrender are welcome, and those who continue to wield the gun will meet the wrath of our forces.”The Home Minister has set a firm deadline of March 31, 2026, to completely eradicate Naxalism from the country. According to the Home Ministry, this aggressive, multi-pronged strategy has yielded “unprecedented success.”
The number of districts severely affected by Left-Wing Extremism has been reduced from six to just three—Bijapur, Sukma, and Narayanpur, all in Chhattisgarh. The overall number of affected districts has also come down from 18 to 11.The latest surrenders add to the growing list of successes for security forces. Before this week’s events, official data showed that 836 LWE operatives had been arrested and 1,639 had surrendered, including senior leaders.
