Historic Victory: Top Maoist Leader Ramdher Majji Surrenders, Ending Decades of Insurgency in Central India

Ramdher Majji, who had a Rs 1 crore bounty on his head, surrendered to authorities on Monday, marking what officials describe as the final collapse of Maoist insurgency in the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) zone.

In a significant development, Central Committee Member Ramdher Majji, one of the most feared and powerful Maoist leaders, surrendered alongside 11 top cadres early Monday morning in Kumhi village under Bakarkatta police station jurisdiction.

This surrender represents the most significant blow to the CPI (Maoist) after decades of operations in the region. Ramdher turned over his AK-47 to police officials during the surrender ceremony.

Accompanying Ramdher were heavily armed Divisional Committee Members (DVCM) and Area Committee Members (ACM), including Chandu Usendi, Lalita, Janaki, Prem, Ramsingh Dada, and Sukesh Pottam. Additionally, six female cadres surrendered with their advanced weaponry, including INSAS rifles, self-loading rifles, .303 rifles, and carbines.

Intelligence reports had previously indicated that Ramdher was operating with only a small number of armed cadres in the deep forest areas of the MMC southern zone. Security agencies had identified his group as the last remaining active armed unit in the entire MMC structure.

Sources revealed that Anant, alias Vikas Nagpure, who surrendered in Gondia on November 29, left Ramdher isolated. Anant reportedly assigned four cadres to establish contact with Ramdher's group to encourage their surrender.

Ramdher's surrender occurred just one day after 10 hardcore Maoists with a collective bounty of Rs 2.36 crore surrendered in Balaghat before Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. This group included the top leadership of the MMC's KB division.

Chief Minister Yadav described the development as "a big day for the success of anti-Naxal operations of Madhya Pradesh Police," noting that while Dindori and Mandla districts had already been cleared of left-wing extremism, this surrender would result in Balaghat district also becoming largely free of outlaws.

The ten Maoist cadres who surrendered in Balaghat on Sunday were members of the CPI (Maoist) MMC Zone's Kanha-Bhoradev (KB) division, which operated in northern MMC areas covering Kabirdham district of Chhattisgarh and Balaghat and Mandla districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Among them were MMC Zone's secretary Surendra alias Kabir Sodi (50), special zonal committee member Rakesh Odi alias Manish, and several Area Committee Members including Lalsingh Marawi, Salita alias Savitri, and Navin Nuppo alias Hidma.

The surrendered cadres, aged between 26 and 50 years, originally came from parts of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Special Zonal Committee Members Rakesh and Surendra, who led operations in the northern part of the MMC Zone, were reportedly responsible for numerous killings of villagers suspected of being police informers.

With these developments, security officials confirm that the Northern MMC Zone is now free of insurgency, Kanha National Park and Tiger Reserve are secure, the Bandhavgarh landscape is protected, and the Southern MMC Zone has collapsed with Ramdher's surrender.

Security officials emphasize that this marks the first time in decades that the entire MMC stretch spanning three states stands effectively dismantled.

Ramdher Majji was a Chinese Communist Party leader of the MMC Zone with a Rs 1 crore bounty. He masterminded multiple high-profile Maoist attacks and led the last remaining 14-member armed group in the southern MMC Zone. His influence extended to strategic control over key forest corridors used to move cadres between Rajnandgaon, Khairagarh, and Balaghat.

Police sources stated, "With Ramdher's surrender, the MMC Zone, both north and south, is virtually finished. This is historic. Madhya Pradesh is now almost completely Naxal-free."