Raipur/Gondia, Nov 28 (NationPress) In a remarkable turn of events indicating the potential disintegration of the Maoist stronghold in central India, Vikas Nagpure alias Anant, the elusive spokesperson for the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) Special Zonal Committee of the banned CPI (Maoist), surrendered to authorities in Gondia, Maharashtra, on Friday.

Alongside him were 15 cadres, including two who were injured and in need of medical attention, now receiving urgent care at a local hospital, as confirmed by police officials.

Anant, a 48-year-old influential propagandist with a bounty of Rs 10 lakh, had recently penned a desperate open letter to the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

In this letter, he requested a temporary cessation of anti-LWE operations until February 15, 2026—or at least until January 1—to allow dispersed cadres to regroup and surrender collectively under rehabilitation schemes.

The letter, disseminated via pamphlets, also urged comrades to communicate through a Baofeng radio frequency of 435.715 MHz, with daily check-ins from 11 am to 11:15 pm throughout December.

This follows Anant’s earlier circular, claiming that "hundreds" in the MMC zone would lay down arms en masse on New Year’s Day, framing it not as surrender but a tactical "Poonamargam" (path of rehabilitation).

Security sources report that relentless operations, including drone surveillance and the surrender of over 500 cadres across the tri-junction this year, have diminished morale.

"Anant's defection is a psychological blow; he was the voice of the zone," remarked Gondia SP Nikhil Ulmale, who oversaw the handover alongside Collector Prajit Nair.

The surrender took place amid heightened security alerts, with CRPF and state forces facilitating the handover.

The group, active in the Balaghat-Rajnandgaon-Gondia forests, expressed disillusionment with the Maoist ideology's "inhuman" toll and the outfit’s internal fractures, including the recent neutralization of figures like Basavaraju in May.

In a parallel victory, just hours later in neighboring Chhattisgarh, notorious Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) commander Chaitu alias Shyam Dada (63), the architect of the 2013 Jhiram Ghati massacre that claimed 29 Congress leaders' lives, surrendered in Sukma along with nine associates.

With a bounty of Rs 25 lakh, Chaitu, who led the Darbha division, joined a separate group of ten cadres (total bounty of Rs 65 lakh), which included Divisional Committee Member Saroj (Rs 8 lakh) and several Area Committee Members.

Sukma SP Kiran Chavan hailed this as evidence of Maoism's "rapid decline," attributing it to District Reserve Guard (DRG) offensives and development initiatives like the Niyad Nellanar Yojana, now reaching 67 former Naxal villages.

Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai called both events "historic milestones" in the quest for a LWE-free India by 2026.

Under the state's 2025 Surrender Policy, all 26 will receive Rs 2.5 lakh cash, housing, and skill training.

Officials foresee a domino effect, with intelligence suggesting that 200 more MMC cadres are contemplating surrender by year-end.

This dual capitulation underscores the toll of 2025: 290 neutralized, 1,090 arrested, and 881 surrendered nationwide, according to MHA data. Yet, Maoist hardliners' recent calls for "fight till the last breath" during PLGA Week (December 2-8) highlight persistent defiance amidst the outfit’s existential crisis.