Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], April 26 (HBTV): Chhattisgarh Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Kiran Singh Deo on Friday said that Bastar district in the state is moving towards peace.

'Bastar district is slowly moving towards peace... Many government welfare schemes of development are able to reach many areas of the district where they couldn't before... Everyone should be in the mainstream,' Kiran Singh Deo told ANI.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said that every possible effort would be made as per rules for the rehabilitation of surrendered Naxalites.

'A total of 22 Naxalites, including 11 Naxalites carrying a bounty of INR 40 lakh, have surrendered before the security forces in Sukma district. It is a matter of satisfaction that the Maoists are now trying to join the mainstream of society. Every possible effort will be made as per rules for the rehabilitation of the surrendered Naxalites. As per the resolution of Union Home Minister Amit Shah Ji, complete eradication of red terror from the country and state is certain by March 2026,' CM Sai posted on X in Hindi.

Earlier today, 22 Naxalites, including nine women, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district in the presence of Superintendent of Police (SP) Kiran Gangaram Chavan.

Following the surrender, speaking to the media, Sukma SP Kiran Gangaram Chavan said that the surrendered Naxalites would receive all benefits under the government's surrender policy.

'The surrendered Naxalites hail from Maad (Chhattisgarh) and Nuapada (Odisha) divisions. The Naxalites will be given all the benefits provided by the government. There are Naxalites of different ranks who have surrendered. Some Naxalites have a bounty of INR 5 lakh, while others have a bounty of INR 8 lakh,' Sukma SP said.

Earlier, twenty-six Maoists, three of them carrying cash rewards, surrendered before senior police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials in Dantewada.

The surrender took place at the District Reserve Guard (DRG) headquarters as part of the ongoing Lon Varratu (Come Home) campaign, which aims to reintegrate former extremists into mainstream society.

The surrender was facilitated by the joint efforts of the district police, CRPF, and the state's special rehabilitation policy. As part of the state government's new rehabilitation policy, each surrendered Maoist will receive INR 50,000 in immediate assistance and access to a range of benefits, including skill development training and agricultural land. (ANI)