12 Maoists surrender in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district, including nine with Rs 18 lakh bounty

RAIPUR: Twelve Maoists including nine carrying a collective bounty of Rs 18 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit Narayanpur district on Wednesday, citing disillusionment with the outlawed group’s ideology and exploitation of tribals.

Narayanpur superintendent of police Robinson Guria said the group, comprising five women, appeared before senior police and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officials to lay down arms.


Among them were two area committee members, Sudren Netam and Dhoba Salam, each carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh. Two others had Rs 2 lakh each on their heads, while three carried rewards of Rs 1 lakh each. Two more were wanted with Rs 50,000 bounty each, the SP said.

The cadres told police they were “disappointed with the hollow Maoist ideology” and angered by atrocities committed against innocent tribal villagers. They accused top Maoist leaders of misleading locals with promises of protecting jal, jungle, zameen (water, forest, land) while exploiting them instead.

“According to their accounts, local cadres suffer severe exploitation, with women Maoists facing the worst conditions. Many leaders treat them as personal slaves under the pretext of a better future,” SP Guria said.

Each surrendered cadre has been provided immediate assistancesistance of Rs 50,000 and will be rehabilitated under the state’s surrender and rehabilitation policy.

With this surrender, the number of Maoists who have laid down arms in Narayanpur this year has risen to 177, police said.