Naxals surrender in Karnataka: Where are the weapons?

A group of six Maoists surrendered to the government in the presence of Siddaramaiah at his home office, ‘Krishna’, last evening.

Chikkamagaluru: Six Naxals who joined the mainstream are now in judicial custody. They have not handed over their weapons to the police, raising questions about their current whereabouts.

Members of the Naxal Surrender and Rehabilitation Committee, along with the Peace Committee, brought them from the Meguru forest in Koppa taluk. At that time, they did not possess any weapons. They were directly taken to Bengaluru, leading to questions about whether the weapons were left in the forest.

Naxalite Vikram Gowda was killed in an encounter near Peethabailu in Udupi district recently. The police claimed to have seized the guns he allegedly possessed. Among the six naxals who surrendered their weapons, leader Mundaguru Latha had handed over her uniform to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Prior to this, the police had not seized any weapons. Senior police officials responded, stating, "They did not bring any weapons with them, so none were seized. We will need to acquire them in the coming days."

The naxal package also includes a proposal to offer a reward for information leading to the discovery of weapon dumps.

Surrendered naxals

Vanajakshi, a former member of the Gram Panchayat, was born into an indigenous family in Balehole village, Mudigere taluk, Chikkamagaluru district. She completed her education in 1985 and was elected unopposed as a Gram Panchayat member in 1992. Her mother was mentally distressed due to the inability to retain a piece of land, and one her brothers had ended his life. Disillusioned with the system, she joined the Naxalite movement in 2000.

Mundagaru Latha, the 12th daughter of her mother, hails from Mundagaaru in Sringeri taluk, Chikkamagaluru district. Having studied up to the sixth grade, she was driven to join the Naxalite movement due to the fear of losing her home under the Kudremukh National Park project. At the age of 19 in 2000, she took up arms and joined the struggle.

Sundari Kuthluru, the sixth daughter of an indigenous family in Kuthluru village near Belthangady, Dakshina Kannada district, left school after the third grade. After losing her home due to the Kudremukh National Park project, she became deeply disillusioned with the system and joined the Naxalite movement in 2004 at the age of 19. She participated in naxalite activities in Karnataka and Kerala as a member of the Maoist party.

Mareppa Aroli, also known as Jayanna, from Aroli village in Manvi taluk, Raichur district, pursued education up to the second year of BA. At the age of 24, he was drawn to the naxalite movement and became recognized in the Maoist movement in Kerala and Karnataka.

Vasanth K, the second son of Selvi and Kumar from Ranipet village, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, completed his B.Tech degree in 2010. He joined the naxalite movement after going to Coimbatore in search of work and became a member of the Naxalite group in Kerala and Karnataka.

T N Jisha was born into an indigenous family in Makkalimala village, Wayanad district, Kerala. She studied up to the eighth grade and joined the armed struggle in Kerala in 2018. In 2023, she came to Karnataka with team members and is among the youngest of the surrendered naxalites.