Maoist carrying 8 lakh bounty lays down arms

Raipur: A Maoist carrying a bounty of Rs 8 lakh surrendered before police in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on Monday, handing over an AK-47 rifle as he gave up the path of violence.Police identified the surrendered cadre as Darsu Shori, a platform party committee member (PPCM) rank and a Maoist associated with PLGA company number 5 under the north Bastar division committee.Kanker SP Nikhil Rakhecha said Maoist cadres in the region had in recent days been increasingly choosing to abandon violence and join the mainstream. He said Darsu Shori came forward for rehabilitation on April 20 and surrendered along with the assault rifle.Police said efforts were now on to use inputs received from Shori to establish contact with other active Maoist cadres in the area and persuade them to surrender as well.Bastar range IG P Sundarraj encouraged the decision of cadres who have recently joined the mainstream and renewed an appeal to the remaining Maoists to shun violence and return to society.He said the doors of rehabilitation remained open for those willing to leave the insurgency behind but warned that those who continued on the path of violence would be given a strong and appropriate response.Meanwhile, a unit of CRPF's CoBRA from Chhattisgarh has been camping in forests of Jharkhand to track down the remaining Politburo member Misir Besra and catch him either alive or dead. During the operations at least five security personnel have suffered IED and bullet injuries while four Maoists have been killed in separate encounters.