Two Naxalites with cumulative bounty of Rs 16 lakh surrender in Chhattisgarh

Sukma: Two Naxalites, allegedly involved in attacks on security personnel, carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 16 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Friday, police said.

The Naxalites turned themselves in before senior officials of the police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), citing disappointment with atrocities committed by senior Maoists and "inhuman" and "hollow" Maoist ideology, an official said.

They said they were also impressed by the state government's Naxal elimination policy and Sukma police's rehabilitation drive "Puna Narkom" (a term coined in the local Gondi dialect, which means New Dawn, New Beginning), he said.

Madkam Sanna (35) and Madkam Muya (22) were members of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) battalion no.1 of Maoists, which is active in south Bastar, and were carrying a bounty of Rs 8 lakh each, he said.

Sanna was allegedly involved in several on security personnel, including the 2017 Burkapal Maoist ambush, in which 25 CRPF personnel were killed and the incident in Tekalguda where 22 troopers lost their lives in 2021, the official said.

Muya was allegedly involved in attacks on police teams, he said.

The local police, the intelligence branch of the CRPF's 219th battalion and neighbouring Odisha police played a crucial role in their surrender, he said.

The surrendered Naxalites were provided assistance of Rs 25,000 each, and they will be further rehabilitated as per the government's policy, the official said.