SAA event in Chhattisgarh, Dhamtari area, India on Fri 23rd January 2026

Nine Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres carrying a cumulative reward of INR 4.7 million surrendered before Police in Dhamtari District of Chhattisgarh on January 23, reports NDTV. The surrendered cadres, including seven women, belonged to the Nagri and Sitanadi Area Committees and Mainpur Local Guerrilla Squad (LGS) under the ‘Dhamtari-Gariabandh-Nuapada (DGN) division’ in Odisha committee of Maoists, said Amresh Mishra, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Raipur Range. Of the surrendered ultras, Jyoti alias Jaini (28), ‘secretary’ of the Sitanadi Area Committee, and Usha alias Balamma (45), a ‘divisional committee member (DVCM)’, carried a reward of INR 800,000 each. Six others, Ramdas Markam (30), Roni alias Uma (25), Niranjan alias Podia (25), Sindhu alias Somadi (25), Reena alias Chiro (25), and Amila alias Sanni (25), carried a bounty of INR 500,000 each, while Lakshmi Punem (18) carried a reward of INR 100,000. Balamma belongs to Telangana, while others are from different districts of Chhattisgarh. "With this development, all listed cadres - from the lowest to the top ranks - operating in Dhamtari and Gariabandh districts under the Raipur police range, as well as in the adjoining Nuapada district of Odisha, have either been killed, surrendered, or are no longer active in the area," IGP Mishra said. Five of the cadres surrendered with two INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) assault rifles, two Single Loading Rifles (SLRs), a carbine and a muzzle-loading gun, the official said.