12 Maoists, including 8 women, surrender in Chhattisgarh
India
Twelve Maoists, including eight women (Maoists/Naxalites), gave up arms in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Thursday as part of the 'Poona Margem' initiative.
Together, they had bounties totaling ₹46 lakh and handed over weapons like an AK-47, SLRs, explosives, and more.
Key figures included Somadu Madkam and two others with ₹8 lakh bounties each.
Each surrendered Maoist will receive ₹50,000
Each surrendered Maoist will receive ₹50,000 under a government rehab scheme aimed at helping them start fresh.
This is part of a bigger push by the state to encourage more surrenders—over 1,500 happened last year alone.
Bijapur has seen hundreds leave the movement recently, showing that more people are choosing to step away from violence and rejoin society.