New Delhi/Ranchi: The Padma Shri awarded to former Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General K. Vijay Kumar in January 2026 has brought renewed public and judicial attention to an unresolved controversy involving the alleged projection of tribal youths in Jharkhand as fake Naxalite surrenderees during his tenure.

The honour, announced under the Union government’s Padma Awards for 2026 for contributions to internal security and policing, comes at a time when the Jharkhand High Court, in October 2025, sought a status report on the so-called fake Naxalite surrender case dating back to 2011–13.

According to court records, police documents, and contemporaneous media reports, 514 youths—most from poor tribal backgrounds—were shown as Naxalites who had surrendered under Jharkhand’s surrender policy. These youths were housed for months at a CRPF CoBRA battalion facility located on the premises of the old central jail परिसर in Ranchi and projected as militants who had laid down arms.

Media investigations at the time reported that many of the youths had no verified links to banned Maoist organisations. It was alleged that they were lured through middlemen with promises of recruitment into the CRPF or other paramilitary forces, in exchange for money.

In April 2014, the Jharkhand Police arrested Ravi Bodra, identified by complainants as a key middleman. In an alleged confessional statement recorded at Ranchi’s Lower Bazar police station, Bodra claimed that fake surrenders were arranged under the guidance of senior police and CRPF officers. In May 2014, a chargesheet was filed against Bodra and another accused, Dinesh Prajapati. No senior police or CRPF officer was questioned.

That year, then Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren demanded a CBI probe, stating that innocent youths had been deceived and that the allegations indicated large-scale collusion. However, no CBI investigation was initiated.

Internal CRPF records indicate that concerns regarding the surrender process had been raised within the force as early as 2012. In October 2012, the then Inspector General (Operations), Jharkhand Sector, CRPF, M. V. Rao, wrote to the state Director General of Police noting that 514 so-called surrendered Naxalites were being kept at the old central jail campus in Ranchi under the supervision of the CoBRA unit.

The letter flagged that their legal status was unclear—they were neither in police custody nor in judicial custody, and there were no legal restrictions on their movement. It further stated that only a few of the 514 had criminal cases against them, while the rest were included under the surrender category without confirmation of involvement in Naxalite activities. The communication warned that the surrender policy could be misused to falsely label innocent people as criminals to derive benefits.

A subsequent inquiry by the Jharkhand Home Department found that only six of the 514 youths had any proven links with left-wing extremist organisations. The remaining youths were asked to leave the CRPF camps.

Over the years, several of the youths told the media that they were provided weapons or explosives to make the surrenders appear genuine. They said they stayed in CRPF camps for months before being sent back without jobs, rehabilitation, or legal relief. Many reported mortgaging land or borrowing money from moneylenders to pay middlemen, with amounts ranging from a few thousand rupees to over Rs 2 lakh.

The episode also drew the attention of the National Human Rights Commission, which took suo motu cognisance and sent a fact-finding team to Ranchi to record statements of the affected youths.

At the time the episode came to light, K. Vijay Kumar was serving as Director General of the CRPF. While no court has fixed individual criminal liability on him or any other senior officer, it is undisputed that the events occurred during his institutional tenure.

Following the Jharkhand High Court’s direction in October 2025 seeking a status report, the matter has re-entered the judicial domain. More than a decade later, no conclusive investigation or judicial finding has emerged.

The Padma Shri award has again placed the episode at the centre of public debate. Records include internal warnings, criminal complaints, administrative findings, and victims’ testimonies, yet accountability remains unresolved.

Public attention has also focused on statements by two senior IPS officers associated with anti-Naxal operations.

Arun Kumar Upadhyay, former Director General of Police of Naxal-affected Odisha, has stated that in 2011, during K. Vijay Kumar’s tenure as CRPF Director General, 514 fake Naxalite surrenders were arranged. He alleged that weapons were provided by the CRPF for surrender photographs. According to him, police personnel received incentives of up to Rs 2 lakh for facilitating a surrender, with an additional Rs 50,000 if weapons were shown. He further claimed that several individuals were inducted as CRPF constables without a formal recruitment process and that no authentic list of Maoists existed.

Former Bihar Director General of Police Arvind Pandey, citing his experience as DIG in Gaya, said he was pressured by higher authorities to arrange surrenders. “I clearly stated that these people were not eligible for surrender. I am already dealing with them in the manner required,” he said. Referring to the Maoist attack on Dumaria police station on March 6, 2006, he said no constable was killed and several extremists were neutralised. “The surrender policy, in reality, becomes a policy of surrender of the rule of law before terrorists and extremists,” he said.