Dantewada: Ten Naxalites including four minors surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on Wednesday, police said.
The surrendered Naxalites were residents of Rekhawaya village in neighbouring Narayanpur district and worked under the Indravati area committee of the Maoists in the south Bastar region, said Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai.
With this, 815 Naxalites — including 180 who were carrying cash rewards on their heads — have so far quit violence in the district under the ‘Lon Varratu’ (return to your home) campaign launched in June 2020 by the police, officials said.
These ten cadres turned themselves in before senior police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials while stating that they were impressed by the ‘Lon Varratu’ drive and disappointed with the hollow Maoist ideology, SP Rai said.
Most of them were members of the Janata sarkar militia of the Maoists, he added.
A woman, a 17-year-old girl, two 17-year-old boys and another 15-year-old boy were among them.
As Maoist cadres, they were allegedly given tasks such as digging roads, felling trees to block roads and putting up posters and banners during the ‘bandh’ call given by Naxalites, Rai said.
Upon surrender, all of them were provided an assistance of Rs 25,000 each and will be rehabilitated as per the government’s policy, he added.
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