RAIPUR: Vetti Rama , a top-ranking Maoist leader , surrendered before the Sukma police in Bastar on Thursday, handing over an Insas rifle to IG Vivekanand Sinha.He was allegedly involved in the blowing up of a mine-protected vehicle in Kistaram in March this year that killed nine CRPF personnel.Vetti, who was with the Maoists for 23 years, carried a bounty of Rs eight lakh on his head. He was the alternative president of the rebels’ Konta divisional committee. This is the second big Maoist surrender in three weeks after Pahad Singh, who was wanted by the police of three states, gave himself up on August 23.Vetti has told the police that Maoist cadre strength has weakened in the past few years due to development work in the interiors of Bastar, mushrooming of security camps and deep-penetration anti-Maoist operations in Kistaram, Bhejji and Chintagufa areas. Maoists of the South Bastar Division are a shaken lot, he says, adding that surrender and arrest of senior cadres have dealt a staggering blow.According to Vetti, dreaded Maoist leader Hidma has informed his senior cadres that they have to move out to newer dalams in Rajnandgaon and Balaghat (MP) divisions if security forces keep up their pressure on Bastar.Like Pahad, Vetti said he decided to surrender because of exploitation by Maoist commanders, and was influenced by Chhattisgarh ’s rehabilitation policy. Police said that Vetti was a big name in the Maoist ranks, involved in the killing of several security personnel.He surrendered before IG Sinha, Sukma SP Abhishek Meena and DIG Ratanlal Dangi. Meena said that Vetti joined the banned outfit in 1995 as a Sangham member and was made DKMS president in Gagganpalli village in 2003. He was made local operational squad commander between 2006 and 2011 and was president of Konta area committee from 2011 to 2014. In 2014, he was posted as president of students’ union and military company commander before being made alternative president of the divisional committee.Police say he is accused in 24 criminal cases, the biggest of which are the Kasalpad ambush of 2014 that killed 14 CRPF personnel, Bhejji road ambush of 2017 in which 12 CRPF personnel were martyred and the blowing up of an anti-landmine vehicle in March 2018 in Kistaram.For security forces, Vetti’s surrender is double delight after Pahad Singh gave himself up. A member of Special Zonal Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh Committee (SZMMC), he carried a bounty of Rs 45 lakh in three states and was with the rebels for 25 years.