RAIPUR: In a stern and explicit warning, the Bastar range inspector general of police has asked top Maoist leaders to give up arms and surrender or else be prepared to face the same fate meted out to the general secretary of the CPI (Maoist) Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju.
Basavaraju was among the 27 Maoists killed in Abujhmad area of Narayanpur district in south Bastar during a fierce encounter with security forces on May 21.
Amid the ongoing offensive against the left-wing extremists in Bastar region, the range IG Sundarraj P stated that following the killing of the top Maoist commander Basavaraju, their leaders must now be fully aware that there remains no place safe for them anywhere in Bastar.
"We consistently get solid information about the locations of the top Maoist leaders and they can be eliminated anytime by security forces. They now have only one option remaining. Either surrender and join the mainstream or get killed in upcoming decisive operations by the troops. The banned Maoist organisation has begun crumbling," said Sundarraj, while issuing the warning to Maoist leaders including Ganapathy, Devji, Sonu, Hidma, Sujata, K Ramchandra Reddy, Barse Dewa and others who have reportedly gone into hiding.
“The Maoist organisation is facing a serious crisis of leadership and there are rifts emerging within. The death of Basavaraju, the highest-ranking Maoist leader, represents not only a severe operational blow but also a psychological setback to the already demoralised Maoist network,” the IG added.
The Maoist movement, once feared for its brutality, is now breathing its last, as peace and development take root across Bastar, he asserted.
Over 400 Maoists have been killed in separate encounters across Bastar zone during the last 17 months.