Eight Naxals surrender in Chhattisgarh's Bastar division

Eight dreaded Naxals, including five with Rs 16 lakh bounty on their heads, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma and Dantewada districts. Sukma Superintendent of Police said that their surrender on Independence Day is a big blow to Maoists, as ultras observe this day as a ''black day'' and appeal to people to follow them.

Raipur:Eight Naxals, five of them collectively carrying a bounty of Rs 16 lakh on their heads, surrendered in two districts of Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bastar division on Saturday.

Five hardcore rebels, including a woman, surrendered before senior police and CRPF officials in Sukma district, while three, including a woman, quit the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in neighbouring Dantewada district, officials said.

One of the surrendered ultras in Sukma, Boddu Vyanktesh alias Rajiv, a native of Errabor in the district, was active as a divisional committee member under Nuapada division of Maoists in Odisha, Sukma Superintendent of Police Shalabh Sinha said.

Boddu had joined the banned outfit in 2006 as a militia member and was elevated to area committee secretary and divisional committee member rank in 2015, he said.

He was allegedly involved in several attacks, including the Tadmetla (then in Dantewada district) massacre in 2010, in which 76 troopers died and Asirguda IED blast in Errabor in 2006, where 10 special police officers and a civilian driver were killed, he said.

Boodu was also instrumental in executing attacks on police teams in Odisha, Sinha said, adding that he was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.

Two other surrendered cadres - Undaam Sanna, a commander of Jagargunda LGS (local guerrilla squad), and woman ultra Madkam Soni, a member of platoon no. 12, carried rewards of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively, he said.

"Sanna Markam, a member of the bureau communication team of Maoists and militia deputy commander Pdoiyam Deva, were other ultras who surrendered in Sukma," the SP said.

The duo was allegedly involved in Burkapal ambush, in which 25 CRPF personnel were killed in 2017, he said.

The SP said that their surrender on Independence Day is a big blow to Maoists, as ultras observe this day as a ''black day'' and appeal to people to follow them.

Meanwhile, three ultras identified as Mahadev Poyam (44), Sukhram (55) and woman cadre Sukki Kohrami (23) surrendered in Dantewada, citing disappointment with "hollow" Maoist ideology, an official said.

Poyam and Sukhram were active as heads of Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisaan Majdoor Sangthan in the area and carried rewards of Rs 1 lakh each on their heads, he added.