Three armed cadre Maoists, who were carrying a reward of Rs1 lakh each on their heads, surrendered before South-Western Range IG Yashwant Jethwa at Koraput on Monday. The three Maoists were identified as lachhmi Praska (22), Sapai Maniaka (21) and Talasa Wateka (20) of the Narayanpatna area of Koraput district. They belonged to the Narayanpatna Area Committee of Koraput Division under the Andhra Pradesh Zonal Committee of the CPI(Maoist) organisation.
Out of the three, Jethwa said, one had joined the outfit in 2008 and the other two in 2010 and 2011. The State Government had announced cash reward of Rs1 lakh each on their heads, he added. The IG said the trio, during interrogation, informed that they were lured by the Maoist leaders with false promises which they realised after joining the outfit. “Besides, they also said that the Maoist leaders, contrary to their promise to work for socioeconomic development of tribals, have made them a soft target by killing several innocent tribals which was unacceptable to them for which they decided to surrender,” Jethwa said.