Two Naxals carrying cumulative bounties of Rs 10 lakh surrender in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband

Gariaband, Dec 13 (PTI) A woman cadre among two Naxalites, carrying cumulative rewards of Rs 10 lakh, surrendered before security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district on Saturday, police said.

The duo was involved in several Maoist violence instances, including an encounter with security personnel in which ten Naxalites were killed and an improvised explosive device (IED) blast that claimed the lives of two policemen, an official said.

The surrendered cadres, identified as Santosh, alias Lalpawan, and Manju, alias Nande, told the security forces that they were motivated by the government’s rehabilitation policy. They also cited the success stories of previously surrendered cadres, he said.

According to police, the two were active in the Dhamtari-Gariaband-Nuapada division of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) organisation, and each carried a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on their heads.

Santosh joined the Maoist outfit in 2005 in the Awapalli Local Organisation Squad in Bijapur district, while Manju was active as a ‘Bal Sangahm’ member since 2002 in Sukma district, the official said.

He said that Santosh was involved in several instances of Maoist violence, including the killing of two policemen in an IED blast in 2018, the official said.

Both Santosh and Manju were part of a Naxal group when it exchanged fire with security personnel in the district in September this year. Ten Naxalites, including Central Committee Member Manoj, member of Special Zonal Committee Pramod, alias Pandu and Odisha State Committee member Vimal were killed in the encounter, he said.

Santosh was also present during an encounter between Naxalites and security forces in January this year. Altogether, 16 Maoists, Central Committee member CCM Chalapathi, were killed, he added. PTI COR NR