The decades-long fight against Left Wing Extremism (LWE) reached a critical turning point this week as 139 Naxalite cadres laid down their arms across Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh in a massive two-day wave of surrenders.The development, highlighted by the surrender of a top Maoist strategist with a Rs 6 crore bounty and 60 cadres in Gadchiroli district, was hailed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as “the beginning of the end of the Naxal movement” in the region.
The saga began on Tuesday in Gadchiroli district with the surrender of Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Bhupathi, a senior Naxalite leader and influential strategist for the outlawed CPI (Maoist).
Bhupathi, who supervised platoon operations along the state border, formally surrendered with 60 cadres, bringing with them a significant cache of 54 weapons, including seven AK-47S and nine INSAS rifles.