Bastar: A total of 66 Naxalites, including 49 carrying a cumulative reward of Rs 2.27 crore, surrendered in five districts of Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division on Thursday, police officials said.
While 25 cadres surrendered in Bijapur, 15 laid down arms in Dantewada, 13 in Kanker, eight in Narayanpur and five in Sukma, they said, adding 27 were women.
The ultras surrendered before senior police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel citing disappointment with the hollow Maoist ideology, atrocities committed by Naxalites on innocent tribals and growing internal differences within the banned outfit, an official said.
“They also claimed to be impressed by ‘Niyad Nellanar’ (your good village) scheme of the state government, aimed at facilitating development works in remote villages, new surrender and rehabilitation policy of the state government and Poona Margham (Rehabilitation for Social Reintegration), a rehabilitation initiative launched by Bastar Range police,” he added.
“Of the 25 who surrendered in Bijapur, 23 carried a collective bounty of Rs 1.15 crore. They include Ramanna Irpa (37), Odisha state committee member and special zonal committee member of Maoists who carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh, and his wife Rame Kalmu (30), a platoon party committee member (PPCM) who carried bounty of Rs 8 lakh,” Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav said.
Sukku Kalmu (38), Bablu Madvi (30), Kosi Madkam (28) and Reena Vanjam (28), who were active in crucial positions in different formations of Maoists among other surrendered cadres, carried bounty of Rs 8 lakh each, Yadav added.
In Dantewada, five of the 15 surrendered cadres carried total reward of Rs 17 lakh, Dantewada Additional Superintendent of Police Udit Pushkar said.
Budhram alias Lalu Kuhram, a divisional committee member, his wife Kamli alias Moti Potawi, carrying rewards of Rs 8 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively, are among the 15 surrendered ultras, the additional SP said.
With this surrender, 1020 Naxalites, including 254 carrying rewards, have so far quit violence in the district under the ‘Lon Varratu’ (term coined in local Gondi dialect which means return to your home/village) campaign launched in June 2020, he said.
In Kanker, the 13 surrendered Naxalites carried a collective bounty of Rs 62 lakh. Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elesela said.
The eight who laid down arms in Narayanpur had total reward of Rs 33 lakh on their heads, local SP Robinson Guria said.
“Of these, Vatti Ganga alias Mukesh (44), the Maoists’ north bureau technical team in charge, carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head,” Guria said.
The surrendered Naxalites were provided assistance of Rs 50,000 each and will be further rehabilitated as per the state government’s policy, these officials said.
