Blow to insurgency: 103 Maoists surrender in Bijapur

ACCORDING TO OFFICIALS, 410 MAOISTS HAVE SURRENDERED IN BIJAPUR THIS YEAR WHILE 421 HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AND 138 KILLED

- Ritesh Mishra

At least 103 Maoists, including 49 cadres carrying a cumulative reward of over 21.06 crore, surrendered before senior police and paramilitary officers in left wing extremism (LWE)-hit Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division on Thursday, officials said.

The mass surrender, one of the biggest in recent times, held on Gandhi Jayanti, is described by security forces as a significant blow to the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) network as well as to its ideology of violence. According to officials, 410 Maoists have surrendered in Bijapur district so far this year, while 421 ultras have been arrested and 138 killed in encounters with security forces.

Each Maoist cadre who laid down arms were given a cheque of 250,000 as immediate assistance under the state’s surrender and rehabilitation policy.