Surrendered Maoist leaders not welcomed in village

Two surrendered Maoist leaders were not welcomed by villagers in Peda Korma village of Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, according to a report by Scroll. In April, two surrendered Maoist leaders named Dinesh Modiyam and Papa Rao visited Peda Korma village. Police and revenue department officials were also present during this visit. This visit was part of the government's programme called 'Niyad Nelnar'.

In the Gondi language, 'Niyad Nelnar' means 'your good village'. The Chhattisgarh government started this programme in 2024. The main objective of this programme is to provide basic facilities and welfare benefits to those villages in the Bastar region that are located within a 5 km radius of newly established security camps.

According to the residents of Peda Korma, Papa Rao spoke last during the Niyad Nelnar programme. After police and revenue officials gave speeches about government schemes for the village, Rao told the villagers that if they were benefiting from these schemes, they could accept them. This statement by Rao sparked anger among the villagers. An elderly man confronted Rao and physically pushed him away. This elderly man told both former Maoist leaders in strong words to leave the village and never return.

A young resident of the village, Sonu, stated that it is natural to feel angry seeing what has happened in the village. An elderly man from a village in the Usur block of Bijapur had stated in February 2026 that for the last 40 years, villagers had supported the Maoists, fed them, and hidden them. People had accepted imprisonment instead of revealing the hideouts of the Maoists. The elderly man further added that innocent villagers were sent to jail on suspicion and accused of crimes with which they had no connection. Villagers feel that the Maoist leaders withdrew from this movement without consulting them, leading them to feel betrayed.

On the other hand, the former Maoist leaders argued that they had no option other than to surrender. Dinesh Modiyam, who is a native of Peda Korma village, was the secretary of the CPI (Maoist) Gangalor Area Committee before surrendering to the police in March 2025. The Area Committee is a part of the Maoist Divisional Committee, which further comes under the Zonal Committee. Papa Rao was a senior Maoist leader and a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee. His jurisdiction extended to the Bastar region and some areas of neighbouring states. According to the police list, Rao was a wanted Maoist and a reward of ₹25 lakh had been announced for his capture. He also surrendered to the Chhattisgarh police in March of the year.

The Bastar region has long been a strong bastion of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). This organisation carried out insurgency for more than four decades in the forests of Central and Eastern India. It was announced by the government in March that victory had been achieved over the Maoists, as most of the rebel leaders have either surrendered or been killed during a two-year-long security operation.

The CPI (Maoist) has been a banned organisation in India that carried out armed insurgency for decades. This organisation was mainly active in forest areas, and the government had been conducting security operations against it for a long time.