8 Naxalites surrender in Chhattisgarh
Eight Naxalites, collectively carrying a reward of Rs 49 lakh and active in Jharkhand, surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Wednesday, police said.
This is the first major group surrender of Maoists in Chhattisgarh after the Government declared the State free of Left Wing Extremism on March 31.
The surrendered cadres, including five women, turned themselves in before senior officials of the Bijapur police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Bijapur Superintendent of Police Umesh Prasad Gupta said.
The cadres were influenced by the Chhattisgarh Government’s Naxalite Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy and rehabilitation initiatives being implemented in Bijapur, Gupta said.
They also cited the growing influence of security forces, the weakening organisational structure of the outlawed outfit, disillusionment with its violent and anti-people ideology, successful rehabilitation of former Maoists and rapid development in tribal areas as reasons for giving up the path of violence and joining the mainstream, he said.
They had been associated with the banned CPI (Maoist) for several years and were active in different areas of neighbouring Jharkhand, the official said.
Among those who surrendered, Ashwin alias Lachhu (30), Ranga alias Sohan (30) and Doba Madvi alias Rahat (25) were active as divisional committee members and carried rewards of Rs 8 lakh each.
Phagni Poyam alias Rajni (28), Suraj Munni Champiya (25), Hidme Kadti alias Rita (27) and Budhri Kunjam alias Anusha (25) were area committee members carrying rewards of Rs 5 lakh each, while Salmi Champiya alias Jilani (20), a party member, also carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh, Gupta said.
The surrendered cadres are residents of Bijapur, Narayanpur and Sukma districts, he added.
They will be provided financial assistance, skill development training, housing, education and employment-related benefits under the State’s surrender and rehabilitation policy to help them lead a dignified life in the mainstream, the SP said.
Close coordination among the Jharkhand Police, CRPF and Bijapur Police, along with sustained confidence-building measures, played a key role in facilitating the surrender, he added.
Earlier, in Jharkhand, banned CPI (Maoist) politburo member Misir Besra, who was carrying a bounty of over Rs 2.2 crore on his head and wanted in 175 cases, was arrested from Dhanbad district on Tuesday, according to police.
Besides, 16 Maoists, with six of them carrying a combined bounty of Rs 39 lakh, surrendered before the Jharkhand Police in Ranchi on Tuesday, they said.
