14 Naxalites Surrender in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur District

Fourteen Naxalites, including a senior cadre with a bounty, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district due to disillusionment with Maoist ideology. They were active in various areas and will receive state support for rehabilitation. This year, 137 Naxalites have renounced violence in the district.

In a significant development, fourteen Naxalites, one of them with a bounty of Rs 1 lakh, surrendered to security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Monday, police confirmed.

The Naxalites, expressing their disillusionment with the atrocities committed by senior cadres and what they described as 'inhuman' and 'hollow' Maoist ideology, turned themselves in before senior police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials, according to Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav.

The Naxalites were identified as active members of the Usoor-Pamed, Bhairamgarh, and Gangaloor area committees. Notably, Nagi Podiyam, a 38-year-old woman cadre and head of the Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangthan (KAMS) in Marubadka village, was among the surrendering Naxalites and carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh.

Podiyam was allegedly involved in numerous criminal activities including murders, firing at police teams, and damaging roads, Yadav added. The state government aims to provide the surrendered Naxalites with facilities under its surrender and rehabilitation policy.

So far this year, 137 Naxalites have abandoned their violent activities, and 306 have been arrested in the district, Yadav stated.

(With inputs from agencies.)