At least 33 Maoists, 17 of them carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 49 lakh, surrendered before security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Friday, police said.
While 22 cadres, including nine women, turned themselves in before senior officials of the police and Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF) earlier in the day, later 11 others, including two women, surrendered before police officials, they said.
The surrendered cadres cited disappointment with "hollow" and "inhuman" Maoist ideology and atrocities on local tribals, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.
The official said they were also impressed by the state government's 'Niyad Nellanar' (your good village) scheme, aimed at facilitating development works in remote villages, and the new surrender and rehabilitation policy.
As many as 22 surrendered Maoists were active in the Maad (Chhattisgarh) and Nuapada (Odisha) divisions of Maoists, he said.
Chavan said the cadres included Muchaki Joga (33), deputy commander in PLGA (people's liberation guerrilla army) company no. 1 under the Maad division of Maoists, and his wife Muchaki Jogi (28), a member of the same squad, who carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh each.
Among the others were Kikid Deve (30) and Manoj alias Dudhi Budhra (28), both area committee members of Maoists carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh each, he said.
The official said seven surrendered cadres carried a bounty of Rs 2 lakh each, while another Maoist carried a reward of Rs 50,000.
He said the other surrendered cadres were also involved in multiple attacks on security forces.
The district police, District Reserve Guard (DRG), CRPF, and its elite unit CoBRA played a crucial role in their surrender, he said.
The official said 11 other surrendered Maoists were active in Badesatti village panchayat under the Phulbagdi police station limits.
With this, Badesatti has become a Maoist-free village panchayat, he said.
Chavan said four of them carried a reward of Rs 2 lakh each, and one carried a bounty of Rs 50,000.
The official said that under the new Chhattisgarh Maoist Surrender/Victim Relief and Rehabilitation Policy-2025, the state government has introduced 'Elvad Panchayat Yojna', which has a provision of sanctioning development works worth Rs 1 crore to village panchayats that facilitate the surrender of Maoists active in their area and pass a resolution declaring themselves Maoist free.
"For the last 15 days, the police have been targeting Badesatti village and were in contact with local panchayat representatives to encourage village-level members like militia and revolutionary party committee of the banned outfit to surrender," he said.
Chavan said 11 Maoists active in Badesatti were identified, and with their surrender, the panchayat has become Maoist-free.
All the surrendered Maoists were provided assistance of Rs 50,000 each, and they will be further rehabilitated as per the government's policy, he said.
Last year, 792 Maoists had surrendered in the Bastar region, comprising seven districts, including Sukma.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
