Chhattisgarh: 33 Maoists, including three with Rs 1 lakh rewards on their heads, surrender

The surrenders come days after CRPF and state police forces set up a camp in Dubbamarka area of a deeply forested part of the Sukma district.

New Delhi: In a major breakthrough in anti-insurgency operations, 33 Maoists - including three top leaders with an announced reward of Rs 1 lakh against each of them - surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Wednesday. Speaking to ETV Bharat, a senior CRPF official said sustained and planned operations by security forces and Chhattisgarh Police in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas have led to the apprehension of a number of top Maoist leaders, while many others have surrendered.

“Additionally, the security forces have been persuading the Maoist cadres to give up the path of violence and return to the mainstream,” the official said. It has been three days since the CRPF and state police forces have set up a camp in Dubbamarka area in the deeply forested parts of Sukma, where 33 Naxals surrendered, he also added. Those who have surrendered include noted leaders such as Dirdo Muda, Hidma and Vajaam Hidma, who had rewards on their heads.

Those who surrendered were distressed with the ideological shallowness and instead opted to join the mainstream, officials also stated. Those who surrendered had partaken in various activities in Sukma's Kistaram area, they also said. In another major success, the efforts of 201 CoBRA to persuade a Maoist to surrender yielded results when a Rs 1 lakh rewardee Maoist Madvi Vaga surrendered before the officials of CRPF and Chhattisgarh Police in Sukma district headquarters. “He was a Janmilitia Commander and had joined the Maoists in 2016 and was active in Chintalnar and Jagargunda,” the official said.