From Guns to Surrender: Over 200 Naxals Eliminated in 2024 as Top Commanders Fall Across States

In a significant boost to Chhattisgarh’s anti-Naxal campaign, 18 Naxals—including four members of the notorious Battalion No. 1—surrendered to the police in Sukma district, according to a report by ANI citing official sources. The surrender marks a major success for security forces in South Bastar, a region historically affected by intense Naxal violence. The development comes under the Chhattisgarh government’s ‘Niyad Nellanar’ rehabilitation scheme, which encourages militants to lay down arms and reintegrate into mainstream society. Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran G Chavan highlighted that the surrendered individuals were influenced by the scheme, with four belonging to Battalion No. 1—infamous for its role in the 2010 attack that claimed the lives of 76 CRPF personnel—while the remaining were affiliated with four other battalions active in the region.

Chavan emphasized that the surrendered Naxals would receive the full range of benefits under the Chhattisgarh government’s surrender and rehabilitation policy, urging others still involved in the insurgency to abandon violence and rejoin mainstream society. This development comes in the wake of a major encounter in Narayanpur district last week, where security forces neutralized 27 Naxals, including Nambala Keshav Rao—also known as Basavaraju—the General Secretary of the CPI (Maoist) and head of its military commission. Bastar Range Inspector General of Police P. Sundarraj later disclosed that the banned Maoist group had received external training and technological assistance. “Basavaraju played a pivotal role in orchestrating violent operations. The group even underwent training from other militant organizations, including the LTTE,” he revealed.

Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh remained the epicenter of anti-Naxal operations in 2024. Notably, in the Bastar region, security forces eliminated 219 Naxals, marking the highest annual toll recorded in the state’s history. Significant encounters included the Kanker clash in April, where 29 Maoists were killed, and an operation in the Sukma-Dantewada border area resulting in 17 insurgent deaths.

Jharkhand

In Jharkhand, security forces conducted several successful operations. In Bokaro district, eight Naxals, including high-ranking leaders such as Prayag Manjhi (alias Vivek), were neutralized. Additionally, in Latehar district, two top commanders of the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), Pappu Lohara and Prabhat Ganjhu, were killed during an encounter.

Maharashtra

Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra, which is known as a Naxal-affected area, saw several encounters with security forces. In October, five Naxals were killed in Bhamragadh taluka during an operation. Later, in May 2025, four more Naxals were killed near the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border. A wave of successful encounters in recent months has underlined this determination. In March 2025 alone, two massive operations in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma and Bijapur districts led to the death of at least 46 Naxals. The first operation on March 20 in Bijapur saw 30 Maoists neutralized, and just days later, another 16 were gunned down in Sukma. These were not random killings – they were carefully planned security campaigns targeting Naxals during their strategic meetings.

February 2025 had already set the tone with one of the most significant operations when 31 Naxals were killed in a single day in Bijapur. These were not ordinary foot soldiers – they belonged to the banned CPI (Maoist) and were part of a deeply entrenched network in the Indravati National Park region. The same month, in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat, four high-profile female Maoists, including a wanted commander named Asha, were killed. Together, they carried a bounty of Rs 62 lakh and were accused in multiple criminal cases across states.

One of the biggest blows to the Maoist network came on January 22, 2025, when a top Central Committee leader, Ramachandra Reddy, also known as Chalapati, was killed in a high-level encounter near the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. This 62-year-old mastermind was the same man behind the deadly 2018 attacks and carried a Rs 1 crore bounty. His elimination was a major strategic win for India’s internal security apparatus.

In Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, 12 Naxals, including divisional commander Vishal Atram, were neutralized in July 2024. Karnataka’s most wanted Maoist, Vikram Gowda – a man linked to nearly 80 violent cases – was taken down in a surgical operation in November 2024 near Udupi. Telangana too reported a massive breakthrough when seven Maoists, including senior leader Bhadru, were killed in Mulugu district in December.

“ALSO READ: 22 Naxals Eliminated in Chhattisgarh in Two Separate Encounters: Here’s What is Driving Naxalism to Rapid End”