8 Naxalites surrender, 4 others arrested in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada

Mangdu Kuhdami, the Marjum panchayat militia commander, and woman cadre's Kumari Lakhme, who was heading the Krantikari Mahila Adivasi Sangthan (a frontal wing of Naxalties) in Tetam Panchayat have surrendered as well.

Eight Naxalites, including three women, have surrendered while four other ultras have been arrested by security forces in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said on Sunday.

The eight who turned themselves in before police on Friday were allegedly involved in incidents like cutting roads, putting Naxal posters and banners and conducting recee for Naxalite leaders in Katekalyan area, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai said.

The four others arrested on Saturday were allegedly involved in an incident of firing and triggering a blast last year in Aranpur area, he said.

The eight Naxalites who surrendered claimed they were impressed by the police's 'Lon Varratu' rehabilitation drive and disappointed with the “hollow” Naxal ideology, he said.

Out of them, Mangdu Kuhdami (43), the Marjum panchayat militia commander, and woman cadre- Kumari Lakhme, who was heading the Krantikari Mahila Adivasi Sangthan (a frontal wing of Naxalties) in Tetam Panchayat, were carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh each on their head, he said.

The eight were active in Katekalyan area of Naxalites, he said.

With this surrender, 639 Naxalites, 163 of them carrying bounty, have so far quit violence in the district under the 'Lon Varratu' (return to your home/village) campaign, launched by the district police in June 2020, the official said.

In another incident, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters, both units of the state police, nabbed four Naxalites on Saturday in a forest near Gonderas village under Aranpur police station limits during a search operation, Rai said.

The operation was launched based on specific inputs about the presence of Naxalites in Potali, Kakadi and Gonderas villages, he said.

On spotting the patrolling team, the four tried to escape but were caught after a chase. During interrogation, the four 'admitted' to their link with the outlawed CPI (Maoist), the official said.

The four arrested Naxalites have been as Rava Muka (25), Muka Kalmu (23), Hidma Rava (32) and Madvi Bheema (30), all lower rung cadres in the area, he said.

They were allegedly involved in an incident of firing and triggering a blast to target security personnel last year in Aranpur area, the official said, adding further investigation is underway.