11 Maoists surrender in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh

Dantewada: Eleven Naxalites surrendered in the Maoist-hit district of Dantewada in Chhattisgarh. A Naxalite had a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on his head, police said.

Coincidentally, the surrender took place at a time when the Maoists were celebrating Martyrs' Week for their dead comrades, police said. His cadre consisted of people associated with the Malagir Area Committee of the rebels, who surrendered before the Kirandul police station. He said his illusion of Maoist ideology had been shattered, said district superintendent of police Abhishek Pallave.

The SP said the district police had launched a program to promote the return of Naxals and they had surrendered. He said those who surrendered on Wednesday included six-year-old Rambati Bars. She was the president of the Maoist Morcha Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangathan (CAMS). There was a prize of one lakh on it. The rebels, including a woman and two Vadus affiliated with the Jan-Militia, Cams and Bhumkal Committee, also surrendered.

The surrendered rebels have been given immediate cash assistance of Rs 10,000 and will also be provided facilities under the government's surrender and rehabilitation policy, SP Pallave added. Six Naxalites in the district have surrendered since the homecoming program for Maoists began in June 2020.