A self-styled sub-zonal commander and a seasoned Maoist wanted in 9 cases have surrendered before the security forces in two separate developments in the insurgency-hit Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on January 31.
One of the Maoist has been identified as 35-year-old Raju Lakem, a resident of Bijapur who has been active with the proscribed communist party of India (Maoist) and working as a head of the Jantana Sarkar unit of the Bhairamgarh area committee of the banned outfit.
He turned himself in to the police in Dantewada; he has nine cases, including murder and arson, registered against him for which a bounty of Rs 1 lakh has already been placed on his head, said an official familiar with the development.
It’s been learnt that Lakem has been a prime accused in four separate incidents of murder between 2013 to 2016, for which the police have hunted him since then.
During the surrender, Lakem confessed that he was impressed by the Lone Varatu campaign (a call for homecoming in Gondi) being run by the security forces and the administration jointly and wanted to live a life with dignity and honour; Lakem had joined the banned CPI Maoist a decade ago.
It should be noted that as many as 592 ex-cadres of the outlawed outfit have shunned the path of violence and joined the mainstream under the Lone Varatu campaign in the past three years; this includes a total of 150 cadres with a reward declared on them.
JJMP commander surrenders in Palamu
While in another development, a self-styled commander of the proscribed Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), a splinter group of the CPI Maoist, surrendered before the forces on January 31.
The surrendered Maoist has been identified as Anil Bhuiyan alias Omprakash alias Prakash; Bhuiyan, a resident of Dokri of Palamu, has been named in three separate incidents, including arson and attack on security forces.
He turned himself before the district superintendent of police Chandan Sinha and laid down his country-made pistols and cartridges.
It’s been learnt that the recently intensified operations in the Maoist belt by the security forces have forced Bhuiyan to lay down his arms, who was afraid of being caught. He will be rehabilitated per the state policy and will be provided all the help, said an official of the police.
