Raipur: Chhattisgarh police on September 16 said that they have taken note of a purported letter issued in the name of banned Maoist group CPI [Maoist] offering to give up arms and hold talks with the government.
“We have taken note of a press release issued in the name of the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee regarding the laying down of arms and the prospect of peace talks. The authenticity of this release is being verified, and its contents are under careful examination. It is reiterated that any decision on engagement or dialogue with the CPI (Maoist) lies solely with the government, which will take an appropriate call after due consideration and assessment of the situation and circumstances,” said Bastar IGP P Sundarraj.
The IGP made these remarks, reacting to a purported letter issued in the name of unlawful group, that surfaced on late evening September 16.
The letter issued by CPI [Maoist] spokesperson Abhay read, that in view of the changed global and national circumstances and repeated appeal by the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and senior police officials to give up arms and join mainstream, we have decided to lay down arms and declare a ‘temporary halt to the armed struggle’.
The letter mentioned that the members of the outfit will now align shoulder to shoulder with all political parties and protesting organisations on public issues.
The banned outfit, in the letter issued, has further asked the government to announce a one-month ‘ceasefire’ and suspend the ongoing search operations to allow internal consultations with its members operating across states and those lodged in prison.
The letter mentioned that the outlawed group is ready to hold talks with Union Home Minister or persons appointed by him or with a delegation. It further added that the outfit is also ready to hold preliminary discussions with the government via video call. The banned group via the release has also shared an email address and a Facebook ID for their sympathisers, supporters, requesting them to share their views.
Reacting to the letter, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said “I have seen the letter, and firstly its authenticity need to be verified as the letter has certain new elements, such as an email ID and a photo of the spokesperson.”
The deputy CM added that “once the press note is verified, we will discuss the issue within the government and take a decision.”
The purported letter from Maoists has surfaced amidst intensified campaign of security forces against ultras in Maoist affected regions across states. Significantly over 450 Maoists were neutralised in separate encounters that took place between security forces and Naxals since December 2023.
This include neutralisation of top Maoist leaders including former General Secretary of CPI [Maoist] Nambala Kesav Rao alias Basavaraju, and Central Committee Members such as Gautam alias Sudhakar, Modem Balakrishna and Sahdeo Soren alias Pravesh.
Security forces persistent campaign against the extremists have also resulted in mass surrender by the cadres of the group. According to government more than 1600 former members of the banned group have surrendered before the police in the aforesaid period.
Notably, the Union Government has announced a deadline to eradicate Maoist-insurgency from Bharat by March next year.
