State is now free of Naxal menace: Activist

THE Naxal menace, which had plagued Chikkamagaluru district for almost two-and-a-half decades, came to an end on Saturday with the surrender of elusive Naxalite Kotehonda Raveendra before the district Naxal Surrender and Rehabilitation Committee.

- B THIPPERUDRAPPA @Chikkamagaluru

It may be recalled that six Naxalites—Mundagaru Latha, Balehole Vanajakshi, Sundari from Dakshina Kannada, Jeesha from Wayanad, Kerala, K Vasanth from Tamil Nadu and Mareppa Aroli from Raichur—surrendered before Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on January 8, 2025.

Raveendra (44), who hails from Hulugaru village in Sringeri taluk in the district, had not surrendered along with others and had been absconding till now. There were rumours that he would form a separate team of Naxals after the surrender of Mundagaru Latha.

With the consistent efforts of Naxal Surrender and Rehabilitation Committee members V S Sridhar, Nagaragere Ramesh and K L Ashok along with the back-up support on Anti-Naxal Force, inputs from Intelligence department and civilian forum, Raveendra was persuaded to surrender and accept the rehabilitation package offered by the government.