Chhattisgarh: Eight Naxalites surrender, two arrested

Dantewada/Sukma, Apr 12 (PTI) Eight Naxalites, two of them carrying a cumulative reward of Rs 1 lakh, surrendered, and two others were arrested in the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, police officials said.

The eight Naxalites turned themselves in before senior officials in Dantewada district, citing disappointment with the “hollow” and “inhuman” Maoist ideology and growing rift within their banned outfit, Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai said.

The members of the Maoist organisation told officials that they were also impressed by the state government’s ‘Niyad Nellanar’ (your good village) scheme, aimed at facilitating development works in remote villages around security camps.

Among the surrendered Naxalites, Mangdu Madkam and Deva Ram Kunjam were active as members of Chetna Natya Mandli (cultural wing) of the outlawed outfit and carried a bounty of Rs 50,000 each, Rai said.

All eight Naxals were involved in digging roads, installing anti-government banners and posters and other instances of Maoist violence, he added.

The surrendered Naxalites were provided assistance of Rs 50,000 each and would be further rehabilitated as per the government's policy, he said.

With this, 961 Naxalites, including 226 carrying cash rewards on their heads, have joined the mainstream in the district under the police department’s ‘Lon Varratu’ (return to your home/village) campaign launched in June 2020, the official said.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Sukma district, two Naxalites, identified as Kuhram Hadma and Barse Hidma, were apprehended during an anti-Naxal operation, Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.

Hadma was a militia commander under Surpanguda Revolutionary People’s Committee of the outfit, while Hidma was its member, he added.

Hadma carried a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head, the official said.

The duo was involved in an attack on two jawans in a weekly market in Jagargunda in 2024. They had also snatched the firearms of the security personnel, he added.

Earlier in the morning, three Naxalites, one of them carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district, the police said. PTI COR NR