Raipur/Sukma, Nov 28 In a significant setback to Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in the Bastar region, ten Naxalites, including senior Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) member Chaitu alias Shyam Dada, who carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, surrendered before security forces in Sukma district on Friday.
Chaitu, considered one of the masterminds behind the deadly 2013 Jhiram Valley attack that wiped out almost the entire Congress state leadership, had been heading the Darbha division of CPI (Maoist) for several years.
He was among the most wanted Maoist commanders active along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, police officials informed.
The other surrendered cadres include Divisional Committee Member (DCVM) Saroj alias Urmila (Rs 8 lakh reward), Area Committee Members (ACMs) Bhupesh alias Sahayak Ram, Prakash, Kamlesh alias Jhitru, Janani alias Raymati Kashyap, Santosh alias Sannu, and Naveen, besides Party Members (PM) Ramshila and Jayanti Kashyap.
The total reward amount for the ten surrendered Naxalites stands at Rs 65 lakh.
Police officials said mounting pressure from relentless "anti-Naxal" operations by DRG, Bastar Fighters, CRPF and other security forces, coupled with large-scale surrenders of senior Maoist leaders in recent months and repeated appeals by the Chhattisgarh government, prompted the group to lay down arms.
All ten cadres surrendered before senior police and district administration officials in Sukma and expressed their desire to join the mainstream.
They will be provided rehabilitation benefits as per the state government's surrender and rehabilitation policy.
The surrender comes close on the heels of several high-profile Maoist leaders giving up arms this year, reflecting growing disillusionment within the outlawed outfit and the success of coordinated security operations and development outreach in the region.
With this, the security forces have dealt yet another major blow to the Maoist structure in south Bastar, an area once considered the nerve centre of Naxal activity in Chhattisgarh.
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