103 Naxalites, 49 of them with combined bounty of Rs 1 crore, surrender in Bijapur
Bijapur (PTI): As many as 103 Naxalites, 49 of them carrying a collective bounty of more than Rs 1 crore, surrendered before authorities in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Thursday, a police official said.
The cadres, including 22 women, turned themselves in before senior police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials, citing disappointment with "hollow" Maoist ideology and differences within the banned outfit CPI (Maoist), Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav said.
This was perhaps one of the largest-ever surrenders by Left-wing extremists in a single day in Chhattisgarh.
They were also impressed with development works being carried out in the Bastar region and decided to eschew the path of armed rebellion, he said.
The cadres said they were particularly impressed by "Poona Margem (Rehabilitation for Social Reintegration) - a rehabilitation initiative launched by Bastar Range police for Naxalites, 'Niyad Nellanar' (your good village) scheme of the Chhattisgarh government aimed at facilitating development works in remote villages, and the state administration's new surrender and rehabilitation policy, the SP noted.
Of them, Lachhu Punem alias Santosh (36), a divisional committee member of Maoists, Guddu Farsa (30), Bhima Sodhi (45), Hidme Farsa (26) and Sukhmati Oyam (27), all platoon party committee members, were carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh each, he informed.
Among others, four Naxalites were carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh each, 15 cadres a bounty of Rs 2 lakh each, ten a reward of Rs 1 lakh each, 12 cadres a reward of Rs 50,000 each, and three a bounty of Rs 10,000 each, he said.
The number of RPC (Revolutionary Party Committee) members of Maoists among those who surrendered is high. They decided to quit the Left-wing extremist movement after several Maoist leaders were either killed by security forces or surrendered in the recent past, Yadav said.
With this, 410 Naxalites have surrendered in Bijapur district so far this year, while 421 others have been arrested, the SP stated.
"Terms of the government's rehabilitation policy have been encouraging Maoists to shun violence. The families of those who surrender also want them to live a normal life and integrate with society," the SP affirmed, urging Maoists to return to mainstream society.
All the surrendered Naxalites were provided an immediate assistance of Rs 50,000 each and will be rehabilitated as per the government's policy, police said.
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Standoff between Delhi, Shimla police after arrest of 3 Youth Congress activists
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Shimla/New Delhi (PTI): In an ugly face-off, Himachal Pradesh police on Wednesday registered a kidnapping case against Delhi police personnel and "detained" their vehicles at the Shogi border near Shimla when they were heading back to the national capital with three Youth Congress members arrested in connection with the "shirtless protest" at the AI Summit.
"A case has been registered against 15-20 unknown people in plain clothes for forcibly taking three people staying in a resort in Rohru. They also took the CCTV installed in the resort with them and did not give any receipt," a statement issued by the Shimla police said.
The Delhi police had earlier on Wednesday said it had arrested three Youth Congress activists in connection with the February 20 protest at AI Impact Summit from a hotel in Chirgaon area of Rohru subdivision of Himachal's Shimla district.
Saurabh, Siddharth and Arbaz were apprehended by the Special Cell of Delhi Police. They were produced before a local court, which granted transit remand to enable the police to bring them to Delhi for further questioning, an official of the Delhi police said in the national capital.
Himachal Police sources claimed they intercepted three vehicles in Shimla and Solan districts and brought them back to Shimla as the Delhi police had not taken transit remand.
Both the Shimla police and the Delhi police accused each other of hampering the investigation.
The sources in Himachal Pradesh police claimed the team from Delhi carried out the operation in Shimla without informing the local police.
Acting on this, Himachal Pradesh police intercepted three vehicles carrying the accused -- who are reportedly not residents of Himachal Pradesh -- and Delhi Police personnel.
Two vehicles were stopped in Shimla, while the third was intercepted near Dharampur in Solan district. Around 20 people, including police personnel, were detained, the source said.
The Delhi police personnel again tried to leave for the national capital but were intercepted at Shogi border on Wednesday night on the road to Chandigarh and not allowed to leave.
In a video that appeared from the Shogi border in the suburbs of Shimla city, the Delhi police officers were heard saying that they had arrested three people in the morning in connection with an FIR registered on February 20.
VIDEO | Shimla: A jurisdiction dispute has erupted after the Delhi Police detained three Youth Congress workers in connection with an AI Summit protest pic.twitter.com/H7o7eaYOb8
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 25, 2026
"We have to produce the accused arrested at 5 am today in the court in 24 hours, and you have stopped us after registering an FIR at 8 pm," an officer of the Delhi police said.
However, the Shimla police officers maintained that a case of abduction has been registered and the Delhi police is hampering the investigation.
They alleged that the Delhi police carried out an illegal operation at Rohru without informing the local police and no papers of arrest were shown.
"I asked you for a legal document in the morning, but neither have you shown any document nor the FIR number and nor have you taken the transit remand," the officer of Shimla police is heard saying.
The "shirtless" protest at Bharat Mandapam on February 20 had triggered a major security response, with police earlier invoking charges including rioting and promoting enmity under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib and former national spokesperson Bhudev Sharma were arrested in connection with the case on Tuesday. Both were produced before a Delhi court and remanded to police custody for interrogation.
According to the Delhi police, a total of 11 people have been arrested so far.
Earlier, on Saturday midnight, Delhi Police had raided Himachal Sadan in the national capital amid reports that Youth Congress workers who had participated in the protest were provided accommodation there.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had termed the action "unfortunate and against constitutional procedure".
A Delhi court on Wednesday extended by four days the police custody of five of the arrested in the case.
Arguing that the incident was not spontaneous but executed after prior planning, the Delhi police said that the initial probe revealed structured allocation of roles, concealment tactics and coordinated post-incident movement.
It, however, said that the entire conspiracy, including its hierarchy, funding and inter-state coordination, needed to be unearthed.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Mridul Gupta extended the custodial interrogation of the accused -- Krishna Hari, national secretary of the Youth Congress from Bihar; Kundan Yadav, state general secretary of Bihar; Ajay Kumar Singh, state vice-president of eastern Uttar Pradesh; and Narasimha Yadav, national coordinator of IYC from Telangana.
Meanwhile, the Delhi police on Wednesday denied permission to the Delhi Youth Congress to hold a dharna at Jantar Mantar in national capital on February 26, citing short notice and prevailing law and order concerns.
The Delhi Youth Congress had called the dharna on Thursday against the police action on IYC members who had taken part in the February 20 protest.
