BHAWANIPATNA: A wanted Maoist carrying a reward of Rs 4 lakh on his head, surrendered before Kalahandi SP B Ganagadhar on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old cadre Kesab Veladi alias Deepak alias Ramdas belongs to Palsegundapur village under Gopalpata police limits under Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. He had joined the banned CPI(Maoist) outfit in 2009. After working in Gangalur Dalam in Chhattisgarh for a year, he was sent to Odisha as protection party member to former member of CPI (Maoist) Central Committee J Narasimha Reddy alias Jampanna. Jampanna had surrendered in Andhra Pradesh in 2017.
In 2011, Kesab was again shifted to Kharang Nadi area committee where he was promoted as area committee member (ACM) and given an INSAS rifle. He worked in the ACM rank till 2018 but unhappy with growing Maoist violence and disillusioned with the outfit’s ideology, Kesab had tried to escape from Kharang Nadi. He, was, however, caught by senior cadres and forced to stay back in the outfit. But Kesab was demoted as party member and transferred to Raul area committee covering M Rampur in Kalahandi and Baliguda in Kandhamal district.
The SP said disappointed with the Maoists ideology, Keshab decided to surrender. He was involved in many criminal activities including burning of a vehicle near Kendughati, burning of five tractors, two JCBs and one mixture machine near Nuamunda of Kalahandi district. He was also involved in a series of crimes in Kandhamal district.The SP added that due to a progressive surrender and rehabilitation policy of State Government, many Maoist cadres are giving up arms. Five Chhattisgarh cadres have surrendered in Kalahandi in the recent times.