RAIPUR: As many as 14 Maoists surrendered before the police in the strife-torn Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, about 400 km south of Raipur on Thursday.
Two of the surrendered rebels were carrying the reward of Rs 1 lakh on their head.
The development is cited as yet another success achieved under the ongoing 'Lon Varatu' (in Gondi dialect meaning return to home) campaign.
“Those who surrendered have various cases registered again them. Submitting to the appeal of 'Lon Varatu' mission, they expressed their willingness to return to the mainstream after becoming frustrated with the “anti-development and hollow ideology” of the CPI (Maoist)”, said Abhishek Pallava, Dantewada SP.
The surrendered Maoists were given an immediate incentive of Rs 10,000 each. They would be rehabilitated as per the government’s policy, he added.
Taking ahead of the anti-Maoist programme, the Dantewada police had launched 'Lon Varatu' in July last year by making public the names of the most wanted Maoists and an appeal to them to return to the mainstream. The district police have put posters and banners of around 1,600 rebels in their native villages appealing to them to renounce violence.
The rebels are under tremendous pressure owing to the persistent and successful anti-Maoist and area domination operations launched by the security forces.
Dantewada is among the seven worst Maoist affected districts in the conflict zone of Bastar in south Chhattisgarh.