Woman naxal with Rs 5 lakh bounty surrenders in Chhattisgarh

Dhamtari (Chhattisgarh), Jan 6 (PTI) A 37-year-old Naxalite, involved in multiple encounters against security forces and carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh on her head, surrendered in Dhamtari district on Tuesday, police said.

Bhumika alias Somari was an active member of the Nagri Area Committee and served as 'commander' of the Gobra Local Organisation Squad (LOS) of Maoists, said Dhamtari Superintendent of Police SP Suraj Singh Parihar.

A native of Bijapur district, Bhumika told police that she was disappointed with "hollow" Maoist ideology.

She cited discrimination within the CPI (Maoist) and prolonged separation from family life as the reasons for surrender, police said. She was also influenced by the Chhattisgarh government's surrender and rehabilitation policy.

Sustained police operations and civic action programmes in the region also mounted pressure on the outfit, said Parihar.

Bhumika was associated with the outlawed CPI (Maoist) since 2005 and active in forests along the border of Chhattisgarh and Odisha, he said.

She was allegedly involved in several Maoist incidents, including encounters in Padkipali (Mahasamund- Chhattisgarh) in 2010, Motipani forest in Manpur in 2014, Kamalwadi forest in Nuapada (Odisha) in 2016 and Mandagiri forest in Dhamtari in 2025, said Parihar.

Multiple criminal cases are registered against her under various sections of the law, the SP said, adding that the surrendered Maoist was provided an immediate assistance of Rs 50,000 as per the state's surrender policy. PTI COR TKP NSK