Eight Naxalites, including four allegedly involved in killing a BJP MLA in April last year, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said on Tuesday.
The cadres, who were active in south Bastar, turned themselves in before senior police and CRPF officials on Monday, citing their disappointment with the Maoist ideology, an official said.
They said the recent surrender by their colleagues as a part of 'Lon Varratu' (Return to your Home/Village) campaign of the police had encouraged them to quit violence, the official said.
Of the eight, Aytu Bhaskar (25), who was a Section Commander in Platoon No 13 of Maoists, carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh on his head, said Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava.
Bhaskar had been in jail for close to 11 months in 2019 in connection with the uprooting of railway tracks by Naxalites in Bhansi area and is currently out on bail.
Raju Karam (25), head of Chetna Natya Mandli (a cultural wing of Maoists), and Mahesh Kumar Dodi (26) were involved in various incidents and carried rewards of Rs 1 lakh each on their heads, the officer added.
Bhima Barse (28), Lakhma Tati (22), Sona Tati (20), Madka Barse (21) and Pitte alias Bhima Mandavi (35) were among the surrendered cadres. They were allegedly involved in the IED blast which killed BJP MLA Bheema Mandavi and four security personnel in Shyamgiri in Dantewada in April 2019, he said.
The eight were given an immediate assistance of Rs 10,000 each and will be provided facilities as per the government's surrender and rehabilitation policy, the official added.
Under the Lon Varratu initiative, the Dantewada police have put up posters and banners in the native villages of at least 1,600 Naxals, mostly carrying cash rewards on their heads, and appealed them to return to the mainstream.
Since the drive started in June, 226 Naxalites have surrendered in the district.