Raipur: In a major success, 41 armed Maoist cadres, including 12 women, surrendered before senior police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officers in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Wednesday.
The group, which carried a combined reward of Rs 1,19,00,000 on their heads, decided to abandon violence and return to the mainstream.
The surrendered cadres belonged to some of the most sensitive formations of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), including five members of PLGA Battalion No 1, three area committee members, 11 platoon and area committee party members, several militia commanders and members, and office-bearers of front organisations such as DAKMS and KAMS.
Thirty-nine of them were part of the South Sub-Zonal Bureau, while the rest were attached to the Telangana State Committee and the Dhamtari-Gariaband-Nuapada division.
The surrender ceremony took place under the state government’s rehabilitation programme titled ‘Puna Margem: Rehabilitation to Rebirth’ and the Niyad Nellanar Scheme.
It was conducted in the presence of Deputy Inspector General of Police (CRPF) Bijapur Sector BS Negi, Superintendent of Police Bijapur Dr Jitendra Kumar Yadav and other senior officers of the District Reserve Guard, Bastar Fighters, STF, Cobra and CRPF battalions.
Bijapur Superintendent of Police Dr Jitendra Kumar Yadav welcomed the development and appealed to the remaining Maoists to give up arms.
He said the families of those still in the forests want them to come back, adding that the government’s rehabilitation policy is providing every possible facility for a secure, dignified and self-reliant future.
Since January 1 this year, 528 Maoists have been arrested, 560 have surrendered, and 144 have been killed in encounters across the district.
From January 2024 to date, 790 cadres have joined the mainstream, 1,031 have been arrested, and 202 have lost their lives in different operations.
The returning cadres expressed complete faith in the Indian Constitution and pledged to live peacefully within the democratic system.
As part of immediate relief, each of them will receive Rs 50,000, while the full process of their rehabilitation and reintegration into society has already begun.
Security officials described the surrender as a result of continuous pressure from joint operations, trust-building measures in remote areas and the attractive rehabilitation package offered by the Chhattisgarh government, signalling a further weakening of Maoist influence in the South Bastar region.
(IANS)
