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10 Maoist cadres, including leader with ₹55 lakh bounty, surrender in Odisha
Ten Maoist cadres, including a ₹55 lakh bounty leader from Chhattisgarh, surrender before Kandhamal Police in Odisha with firearms and ammunition
Ten Communist Party of India (Maoist) cadres, including a state committee member with a ₹55 lakh bounty, surrendered before the Kandhamal police on Wednesday.
The surrender took place at a formal ceremony organised by the Odisha Police at the Reserve Police Ground in Phulbani, where the cadres also laid down arms and ammunition before senior officers of the police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Those who surrendered include Sanu Pottam alias Nitu, a State Committee Member of the KKBN Division, and Santaei Salam alias Anupa, a Divisional Committee Member of the same division. Two Area Committee Members, Laxmi Madvi alias Sangita and Sunil Telam, were also among those who surrendered, along with six party members identified as Manjula Punem alias Silpa, Rambati Oyam alias Jamuna, Ganesh Kunjam, Susila Dudi, Sarita Kuhudam and Chodi Yogi alias Rajni.
Additional director general of police (anti-naxal operations) Sanjeeb Panda said all 10 cadres are from Chhattisgarh and surrendered with 10 firearms along with other ammunition. “The Maoist cadres carried a combined reward of ₹1.15 crore,” Panda said on the sidelines of the ceremony.
Panda said that Nabarangapur, Balangir, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nuapada and Boudh districts had already been declared naxal-free. “We now have the target to make the border areas of Kandhamal, Kalahandi and Rayagada districts naxal-free. As many as 25 Maoists are believed to be operating in these areas. We would appeal to them to shun violence and join the mainstream of society,” he said.
The surrender comes days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking at the CISF’s 57th Raising Day ceremony in Cuttack, reiterated the Centre’s deadline of March 31 to rid India of Maoist violence.
Shah said the Modi government had made a “pledge” to defeat the insurgency and that the dream of a Red Corridor stretching from Tirupati to Pashupati would be “completely defeated.” He credited the CISF and other security forces for their contributions in states including Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.
Under the state government’s rehabilitation and reintegration policy, each of the ten surrendered cadres was immediately provided an interim relief of ₹25,000. They will additionally receive housing under the Antyodaya Gruha Yojana, a one-time marriage incentive of ₹25,000 and free enrolment in short-term skill development programmes. A monthly stipend of ₹10,000 will be paid during the training period, for up to three years, to help ease their transition into civilian life.
