Bhubaneswar: Amid intensified operations against Left-Wing Extremism in Kandhamal, the family of Sukru alias Krishna, the lone senior cadre from Odisha, has issued an emotional public appeal urging him to abandon the path of armed insurgency and surrender.
According to reports, security forces have surrounded Gumma forest area under Daringbadi police limits, where 49-year-old Sukru, a native of Kurub village under Kalimela police limits in Malkangiri district, is believed to be hiding with the last small group of CPI (Maoist) operatives in the in the dense forests along the Kandhamal-Rayagada-Kalahandi border region.
While Sukru’s family remains hopeful of his return home, his relatives and villagers have also echoed the appeal, calling on him to to lay down arms, take advantage of the government’s surrender and rehabilitation scheme, which offers financial aid, job opportunities, and reintegration support, and rejoin his family and mainstream society. They also recalled how Sukru had worked to develop the village during his early years and emphasised that surrendering could allow him to once again play a positive role in the community.
The 49-year-old has been involved in Maoist activities for nearly three decades and carries a bounty of Rs 55 lakh. He allegedly has been targeting Maoist cadres who are attempting to surrender.
Police investigations revealed that Sukru allegedly killed a subordinate commander, Anwesh alias Renu, in late January after the latter planned to surrender along with around 12 other cadres. The incident highlighted growing fissures within the outlawed outfit, with some cadres reportedly favouring exit from the insurgency while hardliners like Sukru resist.
He has so far remained defiant despite repeated police offers for peaceful surrender and assurances of benefits under the state’s revised policy.
Meanwhile, a large-scale combing operation has been underway since February 20, with forces intensifying searches in suspected hideouts across forests in Daringbadi, Kotagarh and Raikia blocks as March 31 deadline to end the insurgency looms. The offensive includes drone-based aerial surveillance to track movement in remote and inaccessible terrain.
