16 Maoists surrender in Jharkhand, six with bounties totalling ₹39 lakh

In a significant development, sixteen Maoists, including six with a combined bounty of ₹39 lakh, surrendered before the Jharkhand Police on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. This was announced by a senior police officer.

Among those who surrendered was Santosh Mahto, also known as Basudev Da and Dilip, who was wanted in 128 cases and carried a reward of ₹15 lakh on his head. The group included five women members, a regional committee member, and a zonal committee member of the banned CPI (Maoist).

The surrender of Santosh Mahto, a regional committee member, is considered a major achievement for the Jharkhand Police. He was accused of involvement in an IED blast in a forest under the Manoharpur, Chotnagar, and Jhariakela border police stations on March 1, which injured a jawan of the Cobra battalion.

Jharkhand Director General of Police Tadasha Mishra described the surrender as another "big achievement" for the state police. "We are committed to eliminating extremism and crimes from the State. The Jharkhand Police are working towards their commitment to make the State clean," she said.

Also surrendering were zonal committee member Chandan Lohra, wanted in 78 cases with a bounty of ₹10 lakh, sub-zonal committee members Anil Turi alias Ujjwal and Sukhlal Birjiyan alias Akela (each with ₹5 lakh bounties), and area committee members Sudesh Honhaga alias Sonaram Honhaga and Risiv (each with ₹2 lakh bounties). Zonal committee member Santosh Manjhi alias Jagabandhu also laid down arms.

The Maoists surrendered six INSAS rifles, two AK-47 rifles, 38 magazines, and 1,562 cartridges.

As part of an anti-Maoist campaign across Jharkhand, police claim that in 2026, a total of 93 Maoists have been arrested, 45 have surrendered, and 22 were killed in encounters with security forces.