Sukma (Chhattisgarh): Adding yet another success story to the government’s efforts to end Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in the country, ten Maoists, including six women, surrendered before the security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Friday.
The 10 members of the banned CPI (Maoist) collectively carrying a reward of Rs 33 lakh, the police said. This has taken the number of surrendered Maoists in the state to 263 this year, Sukma SP Kiran Chavan said.
Senior officials from the state police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and district administration welcomed the surrendered Maoists to the mainstream, assuring them rehabilitation as per the government’s ‘Poona Margem’ (From Rehabilitation to Social Reintegration) initiative, Chavan said.
The surrendered rebels handed over an AK-47 rifle, two Self-Loading Rifles (SLRs), a stengun and a Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL). These weapons carried a total reward of Rs 8 lakh for their seizure, the SP said, as per The Hindu.
Midiam Bhima (30), a company platoon commander of the CPI (Maoist), was among the surrendered Naxalites. He carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh.
Of the others, Ganga Kunjam (22), Lekam Rama, Tati Soni (32) and Shanti Sodhi (21) carried a bounty of Rs 5 lakh each, while Madvi Navin (20), Madvi Rukni (24), Oyam Mangli (22), Podiyam Mangi (20) and Madvi Gangi (19) carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh each, Chavan added.
The senior police official noted that the number of surrenders in the recent past shows that the process of trust, peace and development is steadily gaining momentum in the region.
According to Sundarraj Pattilingam, IG (Bastar Range), at least 1,514 Maoists have laid down their arms in Bastar region in the last 11 months.
As per police data accessed by the newspaper, nearly 2,400 Maoists have surrendered in Chhattisgarh in the last two years.
Politburo member Devji, Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee member Pappa Rao, Deva (Barse Deva) and others are now in a difficult position and have no option but to renounce violence, the IG said.
