Bhubaneswar: A hardcore Maoist who carried a reward of Rs four lakh on his head surrendered before the police in Odisha’s Rayagada district on Tuesday.
Police said the Maoist, identified as Bijaya Punem alias Ajay of Batigudem village in Bijepur district of Chhattisgarh, surrendered before Superintendent of Police of Rayagada with his personal weapon.
His 9mm pistol, eight rounds of ammunition and communication set (Walkie talkie) were seized following his surrender.
Bijaya, who was in Ghumsar AC of BGN Division of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), carried a cash reward of four lakhs announced by the government of Odisha, police said in a statement.
After joining the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation in 2009, he was trained and then attached to Modem Balakrishna alias Manoj, CCM in his security and protection team. He was promoted to the rank of ACM in 2014. After being promoted to the rank of ACM he continued working as Gunman of Manoj, In 2023, he was transferred to BGN Division and then started working in Ghumsar AC of BGN Division from January-2024.
After surrendering, Bijaya told the police that he was disillusioned with the activities of the banned outfit as it had deviated from principles and adopted wrong ideology.
The Maoists who surrender get monetary assistance as per the surrender and rehabilitation scheme of the Odisha government. They will also get assistance for building house, pursuing studies and getting training in a trade/ vocation of their liking.
Bijaya urged the party members of CPI (Maoist) to surrender before police and avail the benefits of surrender and rehabilitation policy of Odisha government.
