Bhubaneswar: Under mounting pressure from intensified anti-Maoist operations, an Odisha-based Maoist couple, Niranjan Rout (45) and his wife Rashmita Lenka (42), have expressed their willingness to surrender, Odisha police confirmed. Both are state committee members, the second highest rung in the CPI (Maoist) hierarchy after the central committee (CC), and each carries a bounty of Rs 55.1 lakh.In a letter to the state police on Monday, the couple formally sought permission to lay down arms. Odisha police said the proposal is under review. “We are aware of the matter. Their request is being considered under the state government’s surrender and rehabilitation policy,” said ADG (anti-Naxal operations) Sanjeeb Panda.
Rout, also known by aliases Nikhil, Shivaji, and Prakash, hails from Jagatsinghpur district. Lenka, who goes by Ankita and Indu, is from Tangi in Cuttack district and holds an MA from Utkal University, police sources said. The couple reportedly joined the Maoist organisation in their 20s.Currently, Rout, Lenka, and another state committee member, Sukru alias Krishna (49) from Malkangiri’s Kalimela, are the last three senior Odia Maoist cadres active in the state.Surrender plans of Rout and Lenka came close on heels of the elimination of six Maoists, including top Naxalite Ganesh Uike, who was a central committee (CC) member and in-charge of the operations of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in Odisha, in an operation in Kandhamal district in Dec last year.The outfit’s central leadership, already in disarray following the deaths of several prominent leaders and sustained operations by security agencies, is expected to suffer a fresh blow if the Maoist couple’s surrender materialises.Panda reiterated the govt’s appeal to Maoists to join the mainstream. “Our intensified operations and the government’s attractive surrender and rehabilitation policy have paid dividends. Those indulging in violence will face punishment, while those who surrender can avail policy benefits,” he said.Between 2006 and 2025, 610 Maoists surrendered in Odisha. Of these, 24 surrendered in 2024 and 29 in 2025. Under the revised surrender and rehabilitation policy notified on Nov 27, 2025, the Odisha govt introduced a flat 10% increase in bounty amounts more than what Chhattisgarh offers.
