RANCHI: In a major breakthrough, more than two dozen Maoists are reportedly in touch with Jharkhand Police and are expected to formally surrender at the police headquarters in Ranchi on May 21. According to reports, most of those laying down arms belong to the squad led by senior CPI (Maoist) leader Misir Besra.
Besra, a Politburo member of the CPI (Maoist) carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore, is also believed to be in contact with police officials and may surrender soon. He has been active in the Saranda forests of West Singhbhum for more than three decades and hails from Jharkhand’s Giridih district.
According to information from police headquarters and security agencies, over two dozen Maoists, including women cadres active in the Saranda region, have already surrendered before security forces in the dense forest areas. They reportedly handed over more than a dozen weapons, including LMGs and rifles.
Sources said the surrendered cadres were initially kept at secure locations inside the forests before being gradually shifted to Ranchi. Several of them are considered hardcore Maoists and carry rewards ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
The cadres are expected to formally surrender their weapons on Thursday at the police headquarters in Ranchi in the presence of DGP Tadasha Mishra and senior police officials from the Kolhan region.
Following the surrender, the Maoists will be shifted to the Open Jail in Hazaribagh, where they will be allowed to stay with their families. Under Jharkhand Police’s revised surrender policy introduced last year, surrendered Maoists are no longer sent to conventional prisons but are housed in the open jail facility.
During their stay, they are enrolled in skill development programmes aimed at helping them secure employment after release. The reward money announced on them will also be disbursed directly to the surrendered cadres.
In recent years, joint operations by Jharkhand Police, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action have reclaimed Maoist strongholds such as Budha Pahar, Parasnath and Kolhan. Security agencies say the intensified crackdown has disrupted Maoist supply chains and destroyed key hideouts, leaving insurgents with the choice of either surrendering or facing elimination in encounters.
