In what officials are describing as the final collapse of the Maoist structure in the Maharashtra–Madhya Pradesh–Chhattisgarh (MMC) zone, one of the most feared and influential leaders of the insurgency, Central Committee Member Ramdher Majji, surrendered along with 11 top cadres in the early hours of Monday.
The dramatic surrender took place in Kumhi village, under the jurisdiction of the Bakarkatta police station, and is being viewed as the single biggest setback to the CPI (Maoist) after decades of operations in the region.
Ramdher, who once commanded a formidable armed presence in the dense forest tracts of the MMC southern zone, handed over his AK-47 to the police.
He was accompanied by a group of heavily armed Divisional Committee Members (DVCMs) and Area Committee Members (ACMs), including Chandu Usendi, Lalita, Janaki, Prem, Ramsingh Dada, and Sukesh Pottam.
Six female cadres also laid down arms, surrendering INSAS rifles, self-loading rifles, .303 rifles, and carbines, signalling the near-total disintegration of the MMC’s remaining operational units.
A Leader Left With Almost No Cadre
As reported earlier, intelligence inputs accessed by NDTV had indicated that Ramdher’s operational strength had dwindled dramatically in recent weeks.
Once feared for leading some of the most aggressive guerrilla operations in the MMC, he was reportedly left with only a handful of armed cadres operating in deep forest hideouts.
Security agencies had assessed his group to be the final surviving armed unit of the entire MMC structure.
As per NDTV reports, the surrender of Anant alias Vikas Nagpure in Gondia on November 29 had further isolated Ramdher.
Anant, who held deep organisational links in the area, had reportedly instructed four cadres to establish contact with Ramdher’s shrinking group and persuade them to surrender, accelerating the collapse of the already-fragile network.
Madhya Pradesh on the Brink of Becoming Maoist-Free
The latest surrender comes just a day after 10 hardcore Maoists, together carrying a bounty of Rs 2.36 crore, surrendered in Balaghat before Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
This included key leadership figures of the MMC’s KB division, marking a sweeping erosion of Maoist influence in Madhya Pradesh.
The setbacks were compounded by the killing of Madvi Hidma, one of the most notorious Maoist commanders, who was responsible for at least 26 violent attacks against security forces and civilians.
Hidma, long considered the mastermind of several high-casualty ambushes, was killed in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh on November 18.
Hidma’s Name Surfaces at Delhi Protest
Earlier, Madvi Hidma, who was responsible for at least 26 armed attacks against security forces and civilians, was killed in an encounter on November 18.
In an unexpected twist, posters and slogans in support of Madvi Hidma surfaced at the environmental protest held at Delhi’s India Gate on Sunday.
The demonstration — initially organised to draw attention to the capital’s worsening air pollution — spiralled into a violent confrontation with police.
Amid the unrest, a small group of protesters invoked the slain Maoist’s legacy, raising slogans such as “Madvi Hidma Amar Rahe” (Long Live Madvi Hidma).
Moments before the situation escalated, a protester was seen holding a poster that read: “From Birsa Munda to Madvi Hidma, the struggle of our forests and environment will go on.”
The invocation of both Birsa Munda, a revered tribal freedom icon, and Hidma, a controversial insurgent figure, suggested an attempt by some participants to frame the environmental battle within a larger historical narrative of indigenous resistance, forest rights, and state confrontation.
The appearance of Maoist symbolism at a civic pollution protest has raised questions within security agencies, who are examining whether it reflects ideological spillover, opportunistic messaging by fringe groups, or a deeper attempt to revive Maoist imagery in urban spaces at a time when their organisational base in central India is collapsing.
