Naxal couple surrenders before police in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada

A Naxal couple surrendered to the police in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada under the Lon Varratu drive. One of them, identified as Pandu, also carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh on his head.

Dantewada (Chhattisgarh): A Naxal couple in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada surrendered before the police on Wednesday under the Lon Varratu drive launched by the state police in order to connect Maoists with the mainstream.

The couple surrendered before CRPF DIG D N Lal and Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallav.

Prakash Kartami aka Pandu and his wife Hadme Kartami were part of Naxal Platoon number 24. At least 11 security personnel have died in Naxal attacks conducted by Pandu.

Out of those, 6 personnel had died in an ambush at the NMDC Plant area in 2012. He was also involved in an IED blast that was triggered in 2015 near Cholnar area in which 5 personnel had lost their lives.

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Pandu also carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh on his head.

"Pandu was associated with the Naxal group since 2008, he has worked with most of the actives Naxalites including Neta, Deva, Vinod, Chaitu, Komdu and Jailal in the state," said SP Abhishek Pallav.

He said that the couple was immediately provided with an assistance of Rs 10,000 each for cooperating with the police.

26 Naxalites have surrendered under the Lon Varratu drive so far.

In 17 police-Naxal encounters that took place in the Bastar region over the last three months, 10 Naxalites have been killed while 89 have been arrested by the police.