Sixty lower-level Maoists surrender in Chhattisgarh

There were 20 women and 13 minors among the surrendered Maoists.

Sixty Maoists, mostly lower-rung members, on Thursday surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district, a senior police official said, claiming that it was a blow to the rebels’ ground network in Abhujmad area.

Maoist rebels raise their arms during an exercise at a temporary base in the Abujh Marh forests, in Chhattisgarh. (AP File Photo/Representative image)

The cadres, including 20 women and 13 minors, turned themselves in before Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Vivekanand Sinha and officials of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) at Narayanpur police station, district Superintendent of Police Jitendra Shukla told PTI.

Seven among them also handed over their country-made weapons, he said.

Three of them -- Sukhraj Kawachi (22), Sannu Ram Potai (18) and Jaisu Vadda (25) -- were Jan-militia commanders, he said.

These three, along with another leader who surrendered, Narsingh Kawachi (40), who was the head of Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Majdoor Sangthan, a Maoist front, were carrying a reward of ₹1 lakh each on their heads, he said.

The rest belonged to various lower-lever Maoist squads such as Jan-militia and Janatana Sarkar, Shukla said.

With their surrender, the ground network of Maoists in this area has almost completely vanished, Shukla said.

All these cadres were associated with the outlawed CPI (Maoists) for the past eight years and were mainly tasked with spreading Maoist propaganda, damaging government buildings, attacking police teams and collecting information, he said.

In their statements after the surrender, all of them expressed disappointment with the Naxal ideology and violence, the police officer said.

They will get the benefit of the state government’s rehabilitation policy for surrendered Maoists, he said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.)