NARAYANPUR: As many as 16 Naxalites have surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district, police said on Thursday.
The cadres turned themselves in before senior police officials here on Wednesday evening.
They cited disappointment with the "hollow" Maoist ideology, atrocities committed by Naxalites on innocent tribals and growing internal differences in the banned outfit, Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Robinson Guria said.
All the 16 Naxalites were lower rung cadres belonging to different units, including the Janatana Sarkar, Chetna Natya Mandli and panchayat militia members of Maoists, he said.
Although their positions were relatively low in the Maoist hierarchy, they played a crucial role in sustaining the insurgency, the official said.
They were actively involved in supplying rations, medicines and other essential items to armed Maoist groups without getting payment against it, besides assisting in transporting weapons and explosives, planting IEDs, gathering intelligence on security force movements and conducting recce, he said.
During questioning, the cadres told the police that top Maoist leaders are the "real enemies" of tribals, the official said.
"They (top Maoist leaders) mislead locals with false promises of protecting water, forest and land, equality and justice, only to exploit and enslave them. Local cadres face severe exploitation, and the condition of women Maoists is even worse," he said quoting those who surrendered.
"Many leaders treat the lower cadres as personal slaves under the false pretext of promising them a better future in cities or even abroad," the SP said quoting Naxalites.
All the surrendered Naxalites were provided an assistance of Rs 50,000 each and will be further rehabilitated as per the government's policy, he added.
The central government has said Naxalism will be eliminated from the country by March 2026.