Who Is Mase Barsa? DVCM Rank Maoist Active Since 2003, Surrenders With AK-47 in Chhattisgarh's Kanker

Kanker: Senior Maoist leader Mase Barsa, a Divisional Committee Member (DVCM) rank cadre who had been active in insurgency operations since 2003, surrendered before police with an AK-47 after emerging from forest hideouts in Chhindpadar village of Kanker district.

Officials said Barsa had played an active role in Maoist activities for over two decades across the dense forest regions of Dandakaranya, Abujhmad and North Bastar - areas regarded as key operational strongholds of the banned outfit.

Police sources confirmed she escaped the forest area and went directly to Kanker Superintendent of Police Nikhil Rakhecha, where she formally surrendered with the rifle in hand, declaring her decision to leave the organisation and return to the mainstream.

Following her surrender, Bastar Range Inspector General Sundar Raj and SP Rakhecha appealed to other Maoists to abandon violence and join normal life. Officials stated that those who surrender will be provided assistance under the government’s rehabilitation policy, which includes support measures for reintegration.

In a separate but related development from the region, Maoist leader Mallesh, also a DVCM-rank operative, surrendered before the Border Security Force at the Chhotebethiya BSF camp. He arrived along with villagers and laid down his AK-47 before the BSF sector’s G-Branch and Commander Raghvendra Singh of the 94th Battalion.

Officials said sustained efforts by social workers and journalists played a key role in persuading him to surrender and rejoin society.

Security agencies say DVCM-rank cadres like Barsa are considered experienced field organisers who coordinate operations, logistics and recruitment. Her surrender is therefore viewed as strategically important, as it weakens Maoist networks in the Bastar region and signals growing pressure on insurgent leadership.

Authorities believe such developments could encourage more underground cadres to come out of forests, surrender their weapons and opt for rehabilitation rather than continuing armed struggle.

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