Bastar (Chhattisgarh) [India], October 17 (ANI): Preparations are underway in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar as around 200 Naxalites from the Dandakaranya region, including senior leaders, are set to surrender their arms and return to the mainstream on Friday in the presence of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. 
Earlier on Thursday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that 258 Naxalites had surrendered in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra over the past two days.
Describing the development as a “landmark day” in the country’s battle against Naxalism, Shah said the menace is now “breathing its last.”
As per the Home Minister, 170 Naxalites surrendered in Chhattisgarh on Thursday, while 27 had laid down arms in the same state a day earlier. Another 61 cadres surrendered in Maharashtra on Wednesday.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said that north Bastar and Abujhmad have been declared completely free from Naxalism, marking a defining moment in Chhattisgarh’s journey towards peace and development. He said that the transformation of these regions, once synonymous with fear, into symbols of trust and progress proves that “Bastar is no longer a land of violence, but a land of hope.”
CM Vishnu Deo Sai said, “Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, India now stands on the threshold of eradicating Naxalism once and for all.”
Sai described the surrender of 258 Naxalites as a powerful message that the might of the gun is fading before the strength of trust. Over the last 22 months, 477 Naxalites have been neutralised, 2,110 have surrendered, and 1,785 have been arrested, figures that he said reflect the government’s unflinching resolve to make Chhattisgarh completely free from the red menace.
Chief Minister Sai reiterated that the goal of achieving a Naxal-free Chhattisgarh by March 31, 2026, is now within striking distance. He credited this breakthrough to the state’s “Naxalite Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy 2025” and the “Niyad Nella Nar Yojana.”
This comes in the backdrop of Malloujula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu, a senior CPI (Maoist) leader and its Politburo member, laying down weapons along with 60 Maoist cadres in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, signalling a potential move towards peace with the Centre. (ANI)
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