RAIPUR: A total of 41 Maoist cadres carrying a cumulative award of Rs 1.19 crore surrendered in an edgy district of Bijapur, about 400 km south of Raipur, on Wednesday.
Twelve among the 41 are women cadres who took a decision to renounce the armed and violent ideology of CPI (Maoist), joined the path of peace and progress under the Poona Margham - Rehabilitation to Rebirth initiative in Bastar division, the police said.
“As many as 39 Maoist cadres were from the South Sub-Zonal Bureau. In addition to those Naxalites belonging to the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), the cadres who surrendered were also from the Telangana State Committee and the Dhamtari-Gariaband-Nuapad division. Citing their frustration over the ‘hollow ideology’ of the banned outfit and impressed by the government’s rehabilitation policy, they decided to join the mainstream”, the officer added.
According to the Bijapur district police press release, the surrendered Red rebels included five members of the PLGA (Peoples' Liberation Guerrilla Army) battalion and different companies, three Area Committee Members, eleven Platoon and Area Committee Party members, four Militia Platoon Commanders, six Militia Platoon Commanders and other lower rung members.
Official legal procedures are being carried out for the rehabilitation and reintegration of the surrendered cadres into society. ‘Poona Margham’ has turned into a significant step toward lasting peace and positive transformation in the Bastar region.
“Under the ‘Poona Margham’, the Maoists are increasingly choosing the path of peace, dignity, and sustainable progress”, said Sundarraj Pattilingam, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range.
This year in Bijapur district alone, as many as 144 Maoist cadres have been eliminated in various encounters, 528 were arrested, and 560 surrendered before the police.
Since the BJP came to power in December 2023 in Chhattisgarh, around 2,300 Maoists have surrendered in the state.