66 Maoists carrying cash bounty of Rs 2.31cr surrender in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: As many as 66 Maoists, including 49 top rank cadres carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 2.31crore, on Thursday surrendered before police and paramilitary officials across five districts of Chhattisgarh's Bastar division.

There were four women Maoists among those who surrendered.About 1,570 Maoists have renounced violence and surrendered in the past 18 months.Most of the top-ranking Maoists who surrendered were from Bijapur district. These cadres include state zonal committee member (SZCM) Ramanna Irpa, carrying cash bounty of Rs 25 lakh. He surrendered along with 24 others. They carried a total bounty of Rs 1.15 crore."Maoists, with a bounty of Rs 2.31crore, have surrendered in Bastar division under the 'Poona Margham' (rehabilitation and social integration) campaign," Bastar range IGP P Sundarraj said.Ramanna alias Jagdish alias Vikesh, a 37-year-old SZCM from Bijapur, was considered the "nerve centre" of Maoist operations in the Red Corridor linking Malkangiri in Odisha, Sukma, and Bijapur in Chhattisgarh. He was active since 2002 and commanded company number 8. Ramanna oversaw jungle warfare training, arms procurement, and coordinated major attacks on security forces across Odisha and Chhattisgarh and was involved in at least 40 incidents of violence.

"I joined the Maoist organisation inspired by the 'Jal-Jungle-Jameen' campaign. But, in the past 25 years, promises that the organisations made were never met and no development done. It's a hollow ideology," Ramanna told mediapersons in Bijapur."This transformation is not a coincidence, but a clear testament to the widespread acceptance of our govt's surrender and rehabilitation policy and welfare-oriented initiatives.

Programmes like the Niyad Nellanar Yojana have laid a strong foundation of trust in tribal-dominated regions," Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai said. In Dantewada district, 15 Maoists surrendered, including five carrying a total reward of Rs 17lakh. Budhram alias Lalu - a DVCM -- and his wife Kamli alias Moti Potavi, an area committee member, topped the list, with bounties of Rs 8lakh and Rs 5lakh, respectively. The duo was associated with the movement for over two decades.Another major surrender unfolded in Kanker district with 13 Maoists, carrying a combined bounty of Rs 62lakh. The most high-profile among them was Manglu alias Rupesh alias Arun Komra, a military company number one commander, wanted for a series of deadly ambushes between 2006 and 2024. He carried a bounty of Rs 10lakh.