43 Naxals Surrender In Chhattisgarh's Sukma District Citing Hollow Maoist Ideology

Podiami Lakshman, a militia commander carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, was among those who surrendered before the police.

(Representative Image/Getty)

New Delhi: In a sign of truce, a total of 43 Naxals including a militia commander carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, have surrendered before the police in Chhattisgarh's worst Maoist-hit Sukma district on Wednesday.

There are nine women among those who surrendered belonging to 10 villages of the Sukma district. They turned themselves in before senior police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials in Sukma town stating disappointment with inhuman and hollow Maoist philosophy, Sukma Superintendent of Police Sunil Sharma informed PTI.

In a major achievement for the police, Podiami Lakshman, a militia commander also surrendered before the police.

They were active members of the militia and Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangthan (DAKMS), Krantikari Mahila Adivasi Sangthan (KAMS), Chetna Natya Mandli (CNM)- all the frontal wings of Maoists, in different areas of the south Bastar.

According to police, the surrendered Naxals were also "impressed" by the district police's rehabilitation drive for Naxals called 'Puna Narkom' (a term coined in local Gondi dialect which means New Dawn). The surrendered Naxals will be provided with facilities as per the Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy of the Chhattisgarh government.

With this surrender, the count of those who quit the violence in the district touched 176 under the 'Puna Narkom' campaign launched in August this year. The surrendered Naxals will be provided with facilities as per the Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy of the Chhattisgarh government.