Chhattisgarh: Another Maoist with a bounty of Rs 5 lakh surrenders in Kanker

A Maoist involved in several incidents has turned himself before the Police and surrendered in insurgency-hit Kanker district of Chhattisgarh on August 7, said officials. The surrendered Maoist has been identified as Chandan Darro alias Sagar of the People’s Party Committee Member (PPCM) of Maoist.

Chandan Darro was an active member of the PPCM of the Bargarh-Balangir-Mahasamund Area Committee of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) and was associated with the left-wing insurgency for a long time.

He carried a reward of Rs 5 lakhs on his head and had joined as a Bal Sangham (a group for minors trained as Maoists) member in 2008. He laid down arms, citing disappointment with the inhuman and hollow Maoist ideology, informed Superintendent of Police (SP), Kanker, Divyang Patel.

Chandan Darro was said to be involved in several Maoist activities between 2011 and 2017 in Bargarh and Balangir in Odisha and Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh, added SP Patel. It’s been reported that Chandan Darro, a resident of Aalparas village under Maoist affected Koylabadi region, had left the extremist organisation in 2022 and was in a hideout since then. It was only recently that he mustered the courage and approached the Antagarh police to surrender. He was provided with an ex-gratia of Rs 25000.

The surrender occurred days after a Maoist couple chose to part away with the extremist group in naxal-affected Sukma, citing similar reasons along with discrimination in the rank and files of the outlawed Maoist outfit. The couple, identified as Muchaki Galle and Muchaki Bheema, was associated with the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the armed wing of the outlawed CPI Maoist. They were impressed by the state-run Poona Narkom campaign ( meaning new dawn in the Gondi dialect) and disgruntled with the banned outfit.

Series of surrenders

Let us inform you that the Maoist group in Chhattisgarh has suffered a major setback lately, as a number of cadres operating under their ranks have chosen to lay down arms and surrendered before the authorities since last month. It has been speculated that the growing presence of the security forces in the core Maoist zone has not only forced the Maoist group on the backfoot but also demoralised the morale of the cadres who have been seen inclined towards returning to the mainstream in recent months.

Earlier in a similar development, as many as three cadres of the Gangloor Area Committee of the Maoist had also turned themselves before the Police in Bijapur district on August 4. It was reported that one of the surrendered Maoist was associated with the group for more than 25 years. All of them were also provided with financial aid of Rs 25000 each under the State Government surrender and rehabilitation scheme.

The surrender took place hours after as many as 22 Maoist sympathisers chose to part ways with the proscribed group in insurgency-hit Sukma of Chhattisgarh. The group, including female cadres, surrendered before the officials of the Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at the Dabbakonta area of Sukma.

In another similar development, two Maoist couples carrying a combined bounty of Rs 20 lakhs had also laid down arms in the Dantewada district of the State under the flagship Lon Varatu (an appeal to come back home in Gondi) campaign being run by the Police in Dantewada. The Maoist couples informed that the opening of new security pickets in the dense, so far unfamiliar terrain has done immense damage to the outlawed outfit where cadres are in a hurry to defect.

The surge in the surrenders of the Maoist cadres can better be understood that within a span of a few years, more than 600 ex-Maoist cadres have surrendered before the Police by shunning the path of violence. The list includes as many as 157 with a bounty on their head. Let us tell you that the Union Home Minister, in his recent visit to Odisha, has asserted that the Maoist insurgency has been tackled well with the efforts of the Union Government and the respective State Governments; as a result, a 30per cent dip has been noticed in the incidents pertaining to Maoist violence between the year 2015-19.