Devji’s surrender weakens Maoist core, pressure mounts in Bastar

RAIPUR: The surrender of senior Maoist commander Tippiri Tirupati alias Devji on Sunday has tightened the pressure gauge in Chhattisgarh's Bastar, with security agencies reading it as a direct hit on the insurgency’s last armed pockets to choose the exit route, before the end date of Mar 31- the deadline set by Centre to eliminate Maoists.

Devji, who laid down arms before Telangana police along with senior cadres, had strong operational links to Bastar and was associated with some of the most lethal phases of the insurgency, including attacks that killed large numbers of security personnel.




With a bounty of around ₹1.5 crore in Chhattisgarh, he is among the last influential faces in the top leadership after recent setbacks to the Maoist hierarchy.

A CRPF officer told TOI, “For security forces, targets and operations are now even more clearer — there are no large formations, no strong central leadership left." He added that most remaining cadres are confined to south Bastar, with small clusters of 10–15 fighters each under mid-level cadres.

“Only a handful of names from Chhattisgarh remain, like DVCM Hemla Vijja, special zonal committee member Papa Rao, Sodi Kesa, who was deputy of Barse Deva and is deputy of PLGA. His last location was found in Bijapur. Some divisional commanders in south and west Bastar, and one or two central committee members operating outside the state. The structure is no longer cohesive,” the officer said, adding that Vijja is an IED expert who has been reportedly actively planting bombs on Karegutta hills even after consistency operations.

Security officials say only about 200 armed Maoist cadres are left scattered across different parts of Bastar, operating in small pockets. The Maharashtra–Madhya Pradesh–Chhattisgarh (MMC) zone has been completely dismantled. Maoist presence has also been largely wiped out from north Bastar and the Marh division.

Another officer also pointed out a psychological fallout within the ranks. “Many Telangana-based senior leaders have surrendered, leaving local cadres exposed, while their main area of activities and violence was majorly confined to Chhattisgarh, carried out with the assistance of tribal cadres. That creates a sense of abandonment among lower rank Maoists,” he said.

Officials believe Devji’s surrender may accelerate exits among mid-rung cadres who face the highest operational risk.

On the ground, operations in most difficult belts like the Karregutta hills has almost disallowed inter-state movement of cadres or camping on the densest hide out on the hills.

Yet, security agencies continue to struggle with the biggest challenge - the IEDs that pose the most persistent threat, particularly in hill-and-jungle terrain like Karregutta, where Maoists have historically relied on buried explosives to deny access and slow troop movement. Many of these devices remain planted in layers and can stay lethal long after leadership collapses, making the final phase operationally risky despite shrinking encounters.

STF personnel injured in IED blast on KGF hills

Raipur: An STF jawan was injured in an IED blast during an area domination operation by security forces in south Bijapur on Monday. According to officials, a joint team was out on an anti-Maoist area domination exercise in the southern part of Bijapur district on KGF hills when a pressure IED planted by Maoists went off during the operation.

The jawan was immediately evacuated for treatment.