India says key Maoist guerrilla surrenders as net tightens

NEW DELHI: Indian government officials have said the surrender of a senior Maoist guerrilla commander heralds the “final phase” to end the decades-long Maoist insurgency.

New Delhi has launched an all-out campaign against the insurgents, also known as Naxalites after the village in the Himalayan foothills where the Maoist-inspired insurgency began nearly six decades ago, and vowed to end the rebellion by the end of March.

Maoist commander Thippiri Tirupati, also known as Devji, had been active for years in Chattisgarh state.

“This is the final phase,” Chattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said in a statement posted on social media late Sunday.

“It marks a powerful step towards the complete eradication of armed Naxalism.”

The Naxalite rebellion once held sway across nearly a third of the country, with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters at its peak in the mid-2000s, but it has been dramatically weakened in recent years.

More than 10,000 people have died in the insurgency.

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The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of marginalised indigenous people in forest regions, where mining companies also eye valuable resources.

Since 2024, more than 500 Maoist rebels have been killed, including some of the top commanders, according to government figures.

Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly vowed to crush the rebels.

On Saturday, he said India was “poised to end Maoism” by a long-promised deadline of March 31.

“February is coming to an end, and I repeat what I have said before: by March 31, we will have completely freed this country from the Maoist problem, and Maoism will be totally eradicated,” Shah said in a speech.

“I can’t even imagine that such a massive historic task, such a severe and arduous undertaking, has been successfully completed within just a three-year span,” he added.