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10 Naxals with collective bounty of Rs 65 lakh surrender in Chhattisgarh's Bastar

Ten Naxalites, including senior cadre Chaitu, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district. According to a PTI report, the cadres, collectively carried a reward of Rs 65 lakh on their heads. The naxalites, including three women, turned themselves in before senior police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials in Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar district, under the `Poona Margem' (from rehabilitation to social reintegration) initiative, police said. The `Poona Margem' initiative of Bastar Police has turned out to be transformative, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj Pattilingam said. The surrender, particularly by 63-year-old Chaitu alias Shyam Dada, a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) of the Maoists, is a clear indication that the influence of the violent and anti-people Maoist ideology is rapidly declining, the police official claimed. Chaitu, whose original name is Giraddi Pavanand Reddy, hails from Warangal district of neighbouring Telangana. He joined the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in 1985 and shifted from Gondia area of Maharashtra to Dandakaranya in 1991-92. Initially working as a `dalam' (squad) member, he became a commander and subsequently a divisional committee member (DCM). In 2007, he served as a member of the DKSZC, and was currently the in-charge of the Darbha division of the Maoists, the IGP said, adding that he carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh. Chaitu had been instrumental in several deadly Maoist attacks in Bastar region, the IGP said. The other surrendered cadres included Saroj alias Malku Sodhi, a divisional committee member who carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh, Bhupesh alias Sanak Ram Furami, Prakash, Kamlesh alias Jhitru Yadav, Janni alias Raymati Salam, Santosh and Ramsheela alias Bukli Salam, all area committee members who carried a bounty of Rs 5 lakh each, PTI reported. Naveen alias Bhaju Salam and Jayati alias Manai Kashyap, both party members, carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh each. The remaining Maoist cadres, including Politburo member Devji, Central Committee member Ramdar, DKSZC member Paparao, Deva (Barse Deva), and others still have the option of renouncing violence and joining the mainstream, the IGP said. More than 2,200 Naxalites including top cadres have surrendered in Chhattisgarh in the last 23 months, according to the police. (With inputs from PTI)

28 Nov 2025 9:21 pm