Ejaz Kaiser By

Express News Service

RAIPUR: Thirteen minors were among the sixty Maoists who have surrendered before the Chhattisgarh police at restive Narayanpur district in the conflict zone of Bastar. The surrender cadres that included 20 females is cited to be the biggest this year in Bastar.

“It’s the outcome of the ongoing anti-Maoist operations. As many as 60 rebels frustrated with the anti-development and anti-tribal ideology of the CPI (Maoist) decided to shun violence and join the

mainstream. They were inhabitants of the remote villages located in naxal stronghold of Narayanpur district”, the Bastar inspector general of police Vivekanand Sinha said.

The Kanker DIG Ratanlal Dangi and Narayanpur SP Jitendra Shukla were present during the occasion.

The mass surrender is seen as a blow to left-wing extremists, who are seen on the back-foot owing to the aggressive operations continuing against them across Bastar region.

The police released the details of those who surrendered along with their position within the CPI (Maoist) organisation and the villages they belonged to.

“They were active in the naxal organisation for the past 7-8 years. It’s a boost to our operations against the

outlawed, will weaken their influence and pave the way for area domination and development. All of them were the youths. The move will also inspire other cadres to quit the path of violence that wrecked their lives”, said Dangi.

Each of them would be given an incentive amount of Rs 10000 and they will further be entitled for assistance under the surrender and rehabilitation package of the state government, the police said.

A month ago 59 naxalites who were supporters and executed the groundworks of the outlawed rebels, surrendered before the Bastar IG at Errabore in Sukma district.

The seven districts including Narayanpur in Bastar zone have been declared by the ministry of home affairs as among the 30 worst Maoist-affected districts in the country.