Raipur/Bhubaneswar, March 25 -- Paparao, the last remaining senior Maoist commander in Bastar, surrendered along with 17 cadre in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Tuesday, police said, terming it a "decisive breakthrough" in their efforts to eliminate Left-wing extremism (LWE) from the region. In neighbouring Odisha, Sukru (49), the state's most wanted Maoist carrying a Rs.55-lakh bounty on his head, surrendered before police in Kandhamal district on Tuesday along with four other cadres, DGP YB Khurania said. The developments come around a week before the Centre's March 31 deadline to end LWE from the country. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Bastar Range, Sundarraj P said the surrender of Paparao, a member of the Dandakaranaya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) and in-charge of south Sub Zonal Bureau of Maoists, along with his team members, marks a "decisive breakthrough in the government's sustained efforts" to bring an end to LWE in the region. Of the 18 surrendered Maoists, seven were women, while other key cadres include divisional committee members Prakash Madvi and Anil Tatti, the IPS officer said, adding they also handed over AK-47 rifles and other graded weapons to the police. Paparao, believed to be in his late 50s, was allegedly involved in a number of deadly attacks on security forces in south Bastar, including the 2010 Tadmetla attack that claimed lives of 76 security personnel. He was carrying a Rs.25-lakh reward on his head. "We remain hopeful that the few remaining cadres, now wandering in small scattered groups, will also choose the path of peace and return to the mainstream in the coming days," the IGP said. In a statement, the Bastar police said that for the first time in the history of the Maoist movement in the Dandakaranya region, the outfit has effectively been left without leadership. The formal reintegration process of the surrendered cadres will be carried out subsequently, police said. Earlier in the day, Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma said Paparao will surrender along with more than a dozen team members in the Bastar region. "Once it is done, no Naxal operative of that senior rank will remain active in Chhattisgarh, and the state is set to be free of armed Naxalism by the stipulated deadline of March 31, 2026," Sharma, who also holds home portfolio, said. People familiar with the matter said that a central committee (CC) member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), Misir Besra, alias Bhaskar alias Sunirmal, carrying a reward of Rs.1 crore, is suspected to be hiding with around 50-60 cadre....