Eleven Naxalites with Rs 82 lakh bounty surrender before Maharashtra DGP

Eleven senior Naxalites carrying a collective bounty of Rs 82 lakh surrendered before Maharashtra DGP Rashmi Shukla in Gadchiroli. Police said the cadres, many disillusioned with Maoist ideology, joined 112 others who have surrendered in the district this year

Gadchiroli (Maharashtra): Eleven senior Naxalites, carrying a collective reward of Rs 82 lakh, surrendered before Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Wednesday, officials said.

Four of them were in ‘uniform’ when the cadres laid down their arms in front of the DGP, they said. The State government had announced a cumulative reward of Rs 82 lakh on them, a police release said.

---

A large number of cadres have been disillusioned by the hollow Maoist ideology, frustrated by the mindless violence against civilians, and drawn to the surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy implemented by the Maharashtra government since 2005, it said.

Due to concerted efforts by the Gadchiroli Police and the Central Reserve Police Force, 112 Maoist cadres have surrendered this year in the district, the release said. Those who surrendered on Wednesday included divisional committee members Ramesh Lekami (57), resident of Gadchiroli, and Bhima Kowasi (35), and platform party committee members Poriye Gota (41), Ratan Oyam (32) and Kamal Veladi (30), all from Chhattisgarh, all from Chhattisgarh, it said.

The others who laid down their arms are area committee members Poriye Veladi (36), Ramaji Pungati (35), and platoon members Sonu Kato (19), Prakash Pungati (22), Sita Pallo (22), and Sainath Made (23).

If a group of Maoists surrenders, the central and Maharashtra governments have announced a total reward of Rs 10 lakh as collective assistance for their rehabilitation, the release said.

Due to the intensified anti-Maoist operations conducted by the Gadchiroli police and the opportunity provided by the government for Maoists to surrender and lead a respectable life, 146 hardcore Naxalites have laid down their arms in the district from 2022, including 112 this year, it said.