Raipur: Sixty-six Maoists, carrying a combined bounty of Rs 2.54 crore, on Thursday surrendered in five districts in the Leftwing extremism-hit Bastar division in Chhattisgarh.Top Naxal, Ramanna Irpa alias Jagdish, who was a special zonal committee (SPZC) member carrying a bounty of Rs 25 lakh was among the surrendered Maoists.Besides him, four divisional committee members (DVCMs) carrying a reward of Rs eight lakh each, ten People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) cadres carrying a bounty of Rs five lakh each, 15 area committee members carrying a bounty of Rs five lakh each, seven Local Operation Squad (LOS) members and 29 other rank cadres who carried varying rewards on them have surrendered, police said.Among them, 25 cadres surrendered in Bijapur, 15 in Dantewada, 13 in Kanker, eight in Narayanpur, and five in Sukma district.“The surrender of Maoists in such large numbers in the Bastar range is a major breakthrough for the police and the security forces”, Bastar range inspector general of police Sunderraj P said.As many as 1,570 Maoist cadres have so far surrendered in the Bastar Range in the last 18 months.Mr. Sunderraj attributed this wave of surrenders by the Naxals in Bastar range to the establishment of security camps in the interior regions and improved access to roads, transport, drinking water, electricity, and other public welfare schemes in the remotest villages.This apart, the growing trust between the local communities and security forces- nurtured through community policing and awareness efforts- has also significantly contributed to the current trend of the spurt in the surrender of Maoists, he said.Bastar division comprises seven districts- Bastar, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Sukma and Bijpaur.
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