JAMSHEDPUR, July 29 -- In a major blow to the Maoist insurgency, 16 extremists of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) operational in Jharkhand surrendered before the police in the state police headquarters in Ranchi on Tuesday and eight Maoists from Chhattisgarh, who were active in Saranda Forests for decades, would surrender before the Chhattisgarh police in a day or two, officials said on Tuesday. The 16 Maoists surrendering on Tuesday had six Naxals with cumulative bounty of Rs.39 lakh, including regional committe member (RCM) Santosh Mahto alias Basudev-da alias Gandhi with Rs.15 lakh bounty, zonal committee member (ZCM) Chandan Lohra with Rs.10 lakh bounty, SZCMs Anil Turi alias Ujjwal and Sukhlal Biranjia alias Akela with bounty of Rs.5 lakh each, area committee members (ACMs) Sudesh Honhaga alias Sonaram and Reciv with bounty of Rs.2 lakh each. The 16 Maoists comprising a RCM, three ZCMs, four SZCMs and six ACMs laid down 11 weapons, including two AK-47 assault rifles, six INSAS rifles, one HK-33 rifle, a US Carbine and a M-16 rifle along with 38 magazines and 1562 rounds of live cartridges. This apart, eight Maoists led by ZCM Aswin alias Lachhu Korsa having a bounty of Rs 10 lakh have reached Chhattisgarh and would surrender before the the police there tomorrow or day after, officials said. Jharkhand director general of police (DGP) Tadasha Mishra said that this second mass-surrender of the Maoists was another big achievement of the state police. "We are committed to wipe out extremism and organised crime from the state. The Jharkhand police are working with determination, dedication and commitment to make the state clean and free of these menaced," the DGP said, after the surrender of the 16 Maoists in Ranchi on Tuesday. ADG Manoj Kaushik, CRPF IG Saket Kumar Singh, IG Pankaj Kamboj, IG (operation) Narendra Kumar Singh, IG Anoop Birtharay and other senior police officers were present on the occassion. And, for a change, relatives and family members of surrendering Naxals were also invited on the occasion. The disintegration of the Maoist ranks started with the successful joint operation by the CoBRA, CRPF, Jharkhand Jaguar and West Singhbhum district police in Saranda Forests on January 21-22, 2026 when 17 Maoists, including central committee member (CCM) Patiram Majhi alias Anal-da, carrying a bounty of Rs.2.35 crore, and Lalchand Hembram alias Anmol, were neutralised. The total cumulative bounty on the slain 13 top Maoists was Rs.4.49 crore. The cascading effect bore fruit with 27 Maoists, 25 of them from Misir Besra and Asim Mondal's teams, surrendered before the Jharkhand police in Ranchi on May 21, 2026. They had a cumulative bounty of Rs.33 lakh on their heads....