Nine Maoists carrying cumulative bounty of ₹43 lakh surrender in Chhattisgarh

The official said Ransai alias Oyam Buska (34), the commander of platoon no 24 of Maoists, and Pradip alias Ravva Rakesh (20), a member under a company wing of PLGA battalion no. 1, were carrying a reward of ₹8 lakh each

Nine hardcore Maoists, allegedly involved in attacks on security forces and carrying a cumulative bounty of ₹43 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Saturday (January 11, 2025), police said.

The cadres, including two women, turned themselves in before senior officials from the police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) here, citing disappointment with "hollow" and "inhuman" Maoist ideology and infighting within the outlawed outfit, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.

He said the surrendered Maoists were also impressed by the state government's 'Niyad Nellanar' (your good village) scheme, which aims at facilitating development works in remote villages and stated that senior cadres were on backfoot with the increasing pressure of security forces and setting up of police camps in interior areas.

The official said Ransai alias Oyam Buska (34), the commander of platoon no 24 of Maoists, and Pradip alias Ravva Rakesh (20), a member under a company wing of PLGA battalion no. 1, were carrying a reward of ₹8 lakh each.

He said four other cadres carried a reward of ₹5 lakh, a woman Maoists carried a reward of ₹3 lakh, and two others, including a woman, carried a bounty of ₹2 lakh each.

Chavan said Ransai was allegedly involved in attacks, including the Jhara Ghati ambush in Narayanpur district in 2007, wherein seven policemen were killed; the 2007 Ranibodli (Bijapur district) attack, in which 55 security personnel died; the 2017 ambush in Burkapal (Sukma), where 25 CRPF personnel were killed and the 2020 Minpa ambush (Sukma) that killed 17 security personnel.

The other surrendered cadres were also involved in multiple attacks on security forces, he said.

Personnel from Konta police station, District Reserve Guard (DRG), Intelligence Branch Team and 2nd and 223rd battalions played a crucial role in their surrender, he said.

The official said the surrendered Naxalites were provided ₹25,000 each and will be further rehabilitated as per the government's policy.

Last year, 792 Maoists had surrendered in the Bastar region, comprising seven districts, including Sukma.

Published - January 11, 2025 03:18 pm IST