29 Naxalites carrying total bounty of Rs 55.50 lakh surrender in Chhattisgarh

Dantewada/Narayanpur: As many as 29 Naxalites, carrying a cumulative reward of Rs 55.50 lakh on their heads, surrendered before security forces in Dantewada and Narayanpur districts of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, police officials said. Of these, 21 Maoists laid down their arms in Dantewada and eight in Narayanpur, they said.

In Dantewada district, 21 Left-wing extremists, 13 of them carrying a collective reward of Rs 25.50 lakh on their heads, turned themselves in before security personnel citing their disillusionment with "inhuman and hollow" Maoist ideology, a senior official said. The surrendered cadres said they were impressed by the police's rehabilitation drive 'Lon Varratu' (a term in Gondi dialect meaning 'return to your home/village') and the state government's new surrender and rehabilitation policy, he added.

Of these 21 Naxalites, Keye alias Kesha Lekam was a member of Company No. 1 of the outlawed outfit CPI (Maoist), he said, adding he carried a bounty of Rs 8 lakh on his head. Among the surrendered Naxalites, 12 cadres were active in different capacities within the Maoist organization. Of these, six carried a bounty of Rs 2 lakh each, five had a reward of Rs 1 lakh each and one Naxalite carried a bounty of Rs 50,000, the official informed.

With the latest surrender, 1,042 Naxalites, 267 of them carrying bounties, have so far quit the armed movement in Dantewada district under the 'Lon Varratu' campaign since June 2020, police said.

In Narayanpur district, eight Naxalites, including two women, carrying a cumulative reward of Rs 30 lakh on their heads, turned themselves in before security personnel, another official said. They were identified by police as Sukhlal Jurri, Hurra alias Himanshu Midiyam, Raju Podiyam alias Sunil Podiyam, Maniram Korram, Sukku Farsa alias Nagesh, Ramu Ram Poyam, Kamla Gota and Deepa Punem. Jurri was active as a Divisional Committee Member as well as a "Maoist doctor", while Hurra belonged to Company Number 1 PPCM (People's Party Committee Member), the official said, adding both carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh each. Podiyam was an Area Committee Member (ACM) and deputy commander of the Local Organisation Squad.

Sukku was a member of Company Number 1, while Poyam worked for the bureau supply team of Maoists, he added. Of the two women, Kamla was an ACM and Deepa a party member of the Maoist outfit, he said. Podiyam and Kamla carried a bounty of Rs 5 lakh each. The other four Naxalites carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh each, the official said.

All the surrendered Naxalites were provided immediate assistance of Rs 50,000 each and they would be further rehabilitated as per the state government's policy, he said. So far this year, 148 Naxalites have laid down arms in Narayanpur district, the official added. The Centre has set the target of making the country free from Naxalism by March 2026.