News Analysis India

Tag: Dantewada

  • 13 of 121 Chhattisgarh tribals acquitted in 2017 Naxal attack still in jail

    By PTI

    RAIPUR: Thirteen out of the 121 tribals recently acquitted by a court in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district in the 2017 Burkapal Naxal attack are still in jail since they are accused in other offences, officials said on Monday as activists slammed the entire case as “grave injustice” to adivasis.

    Some of those who walked out of different jails post-acquittal spoke about years lost in prison for an offence they did not commit, and pain and suffering faced by their families in their absence since they were the main breadwinners.

    At least 25 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed in the Naxal attack near Burkapal village in Sukma district of the Bastar region more than five years ago.

    Special Judge for National Investigation Agency cases Deepak Kumar Deshlhre had acquitted the 121 accused, all tribal villagers, on Friday, observing the prosecution has failed to establish their involvement in the offence and links with Naxals.

    Superintendent of Jagdalpur Amit Shandilya told PTI that “Out of 118 people (tribals) lodged in a Jagdalpur jail in connection with the case, 105 were released on Saturday while 13, who were accused in other cases, are still in prison.”

    Similarly, Superintendent of Dantewada jail Govardhan Singh Sori said three accused in the case were lodged in his jail and they all were released.

    Earlier, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said following the court’s order, 113 accused — 110 of them lodged in the Jagdalpur central jail and three in the Dantewada district jail – were released on Saturday.

    The IG said further course of action in the case would be decided after examining the judgement documents and legal prospects.

    A group of Naxals had ambushed a CRPF team near Burkapal in Sukma on April 24, 2017, killing 25 personnel of the 74th battalion of the paramilitary force.

    The CRPF team was sanitising the area between Burkapal and Jagargunda where a road was being constructed when they were targeted.

    ALSO READ | Naxal couple involved in several deadly attacks on security forces surrenders in Chhattisgarh

    As many as 125 members of tribal communities, including a woman and three juveniles, were taken into custody in connection with the attack from villages falling under different police stations, including Chintagufa and Chintalnar, in Sukma district while some were apprehended from Pamed in adjoining Bijapur district, IG Sundarraj said.

    Most of them were arrested in 2017 while some were held in 2018 and 2019.

    They were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, an anti-terror law.

    “One undertrial (Manglu) died in October 2021 due to illness. All the 121 undertrial were acquitted in the case by the court recently. Verdict of a juvenile court is awaited in case of three minors but they are already out on bail,” the IPS officer added.

    However, the investigation is still on in the incident under the provision of 173 (8) of the CrPC against 139 absconding Naxals, including dreaded commander Hidma, he added.

    After 108 tribals walked out of the two jails, some of them said their families were ruined and pushed into extreme poverty as they languished behind bars since they were the only earning members.

    Padam Buska, who hails from Karigundam village, said he and his brother were sleeping at home when they heard sounds of bullets and next day they were picked up by police.

    He was then 23 years old.

    “We have never been associated with the outlawed outfit (CPI Maoist) but we had to spend five years in jail for the crime we did not commit. We both brothers are married, but don’t have kids. We have no idea how our wives managed families during these five years,” he said.

    He said they were farmers and also dependent on forest produce for livelihood.

    “Like us, most of those arrested were earning members of the family and as we were in jail our families were shattered. How they managed legal expenses to secure our release we even don’t know,” he told a local reporter.

    Echoing the sentiments, another tribal, Hemla Aytu, a resident of Jagargunda village, said, “I got married a few days before the incident. Ever since I was arrested. I haven’t seen my wife.”

    “My uncle Dodi Manglu, who was also arrested in the same case, died in jail. They (jail authority) have not given any document related to him even after I asked for it”, he claimed.

    Another tribal acquitted in the case said his family sold their farmland and bulls in Burkapal village to meet court hearing expenses.

    The person said he is married and does not have children.

    Human rights activist Bela Bhatia, one of the defence lawyers, claimed the Burkapal case is an example of “grave injustice” meted out to tribals in the Bastar region, considered a Maoist stronghold.

    She said these tribals have finally got justice, but asked why they had to spend so many years in jail for an offence they did not commit? “Who will compensate them? Their families have got ruined and the kin of most of the arrested tribals did not even visit the jails in Jagdalpur and Dantewada to meet them as they did not have money to travel to these towns,” she said.

    RAIPUR: Thirteen out of the 121 tribals recently acquitted by a court in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district in the 2017 Burkapal Naxal attack are still in jail since they are accused in other offences, officials said on Monday as activists slammed the entire case as “grave injustice” to adivasis.

    Some of those who walked out of different jails post-acquittal spoke about years lost in prison for an offence they did not commit, and pain and suffering faced by their families in their absence since they were the main breadwinners.

    At least 25 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed in the Naxal attack near Burkapal village in Sukma district of the Bastar region more than five years ago.

    Special Judge for National Investigation Agency cases Deepak Kumar Deshlhre had acquitted the 121 accused, all tribal villagers, on Friday, observing the prosecution has failed to establish their involvement in the offence and links with Naxals.

    Superintendent of Jagdalpur Amit Shandilya told PTI that “Out of 118 people (tribals) lodged in a Jagdalpur jail in connection with the case, 105 were released on Saturday while 13, who were accused in other cases, are still in prison.”

    Similarly, Superintendent of Dantewada jail Govardhan Singh Sori said three accused in the case were lodged in his jail and they all were released.

    Earlier, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said following the court’s order, 113 accused — 110 of them lodged in the Jagdalpur central jail and three in the Dantewada district jail – were released on Saturday.

    The IG said further course of action in the case would be decided after examining the judgement documents and legal prospects.

    A group of Naxals had ambushed a CRPF team near Burkapal in Sukma on April 24, 2017, killing 25 personnel of the 74th battalion of the paramilitary force.

    The CRPF team was sanitising the area between Burkapal and Jagargunda where a road was being constructed when they were targeted.

    ALSO READ | Naxal couple involved in several deadly attacks on security forces surrenders in Chhattisgarh

    As many as 125 members of tribal communities, including a woman and three juveniles, were taken into custody in connection with the attack from villages falling under different police stations, including Chintagufa and Chintalnar, in Sukma district while some were apprehended from Pamed in adjoining Bijapur district, IG Sundarraj said.

    Most of them were arrested in 2017 while some were held in 2018 and 2019.

    They were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, an anti-terror law.

    “One undertrial (Manglu) died in October 2021 due to illness. All the 121 undertrial were acquitted in the case by the court recently. Verdict of a juvenile court is awaited in case of three minors but they are already out on bail,” the IPS officer added.

    However, the investigation is still on in the incident under the provision of 173 (8) of the CrPC against 139 absconding Naxals, including dreaded commander Hidma, he added.

    After 108 tribals walked out of the two jails, some of them said their families were ruined and pushed into extreme poverty as they languished behind bars since they were the only earning members.

    Padam Buska, who hails from Karigundam village, said he and his brother were sleeping at home when they heard sounds of bullets and next day they were picked up by police.

    He was then 23 years old.

    “We have never been associated with the outlawed outfit (CPI Maoist) but we had to spend five years in jail for the crime we did not commit. We both brothers are married, but don’t have kids. We have no idea how our wives managed families during these five years,” he said.

    He said they were farmers and also dependent on forest produce for livelihood.

    “Like us, most of those arrested were earning members of the family and as we were in jail our families were shattered. How they managed legal expenses to secure our release we even don’t know,” he told a local reporter.

    Echoing the sentiments, another tribal, Hemla Aytu, a resident of Jagargunda village, said, “I got married a few days before the incident. Ever since I was arrested. I haven’t seen my wife.”

    “My uncle Dodi Manglu, who was also arrested in the same case, died in jail. They (jail authority) have not given any document related to him even after I asked for it”, he claimed.

    Another tribal acquitted in the case said his family sold their farmland and bulls in Burkapal village to meet court hearing expenses.

    The person said he is married and does not have children.

    Human rights activist Bela Bhatia, one of the defence lawyers, claimed the Burkapal case is an example of “grave injustice” meted out to tribals in the Bastar region, considered a Maoist stronghold.

    She said these tribals have finally got justice, but asked why they had to spend so many years in jail for an offence they did not commit? “Who will compensate them? Their families have got ruined and the kin of most of the arrested tribals did not even visit the jails in Jagdalpur and Dantewada to meet them as they did not have money to travel to these towns,” she said.

  • Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel offers 11-km-long stole to temple in Maoist hotbed of Dantewada

    RAIPUR: Often in the news for Maoist activities, the hot zone of Dantewada in south Chhattisgarh will grab headlines for another reason when Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel offers a 11-km-long red stole at the local goddess temple on Sunday.

    The attractively-designed chunri (stole) in red – the colour believed to engage positive energies and divine vibrations among worshippers – has been prepared by around 300 women, who work with the DANNEX Garment Factory. The unit was started a year and a half ago by the district administration. 

    The move has empowered local women who are stitching and designing garments of branded textile companies which place their orders from across the country.  Traditionally, temple deities in the region are offered chunri.

    “Offering the Mata Ki Chunri would be a significant occasion in the history of Dantewada, when our CM himself will offer it during the ceremony at Danteshwari temple on Sunday. A world record is going to be created as 300 women at DANNEX have prepared the 11-km-long chunri,” said Dantewada collector Deepak Soni.

    He added that the occasion will break the previous record of 8,000-metre chunri dedicated earlier to Narmada Maiya at Mandsaur in MP. “We are privileged to prepare the chunri which will set a world record. We were thrilled when asked to engage in the pious work to prepare the 11,000-metre stole in honour of Maa Danteshwari,” said the women workers.

  • India to construct 12 crucial roads to neutralise Naxal menace

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  In what may prove to be a decisive step in India’s battle against Naxals, the government has ordered construction in ‘mission mode’ of 12 crucial roads that lie deep in the Naxal-dominated belt. Sources said construction on some of these roads is pending for over a decade now.

    Once constructed, these roads will allow mass mobilisation of forces in areas that they have not been able to penetrate in large numbers. These 12 roads, located in the three worst Naxal-hit Chhattisgarh districts — Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada — covering about 478.6 kms have been sanctioned. But work on 214.8 kms is still pending.

    “The target is completing 76.8 kms of roads pending by June. The  remaining work will be completed on a priority basis in the next few years. The idea is to reclaim the region and uproot the Maoists,” a home ministry official said.

    The difficulty associated with the construction of these roads can be gauged from the fact that 53 CRPF personnel have been killed during construction over the last eight years. The Director General of Central Reserve Police Force, the primary combat force against Naxals, has instructed troops to expedite completion of work on the 12 roads in coordination with Chhattisgarh police.

    Of the 12 roads, five fall in Sukma, one in Dantewada and four in Bijapur. Two are on the Bijapur-Sukma border and Dantewada-Sukma border. These roads will not only prove pivotal for the development of locals in the area but it would be a victory of security forces against Maoists in their strongest base.

    According to sources, two such roads were sanctioned in 2012 and 2015, but work is yet to begin. On the 56-km Dornapal-Jagargunda road, work on 22 kms is pending.  The decision to construct these roads was taken in view of the decline in violence as well as the geographical spread of Left-wing extremism over the past decade. CRPF has not suffered a single casualty during road construction in the last four years which is a big achievement, a senior official pointed out.

    “Maoists know the roads will be a big setback for them. Time and again they have launched attacks to delay the construction work,” said an official in Chhattisgarh.

  • India to construct 12 crucial roads in ‘mission mode’to neutralise Naxal menace

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: In what may turn out to be a decisive, final step in the country’s battle against Naxals, the government has ordered construction work in ‘mission mode’ of 12 crucial roads that lie deep in the Naxal dominated belt.

    Sources told this newspaper that construction work on some of these roads has been pending for more than a decade now. The roads, once constructed, will allow mass mobilization of security forces in areas that the forces have not been able to penetrate till now in large numbers. Some of these roads were functional, sources added, till around three decades ago when Naxals blew them up with the purpose of keeping the forces away.

    These 12 crucial roads, located in the three worst Naxal-hit districts in the country—Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada; all in Chhattisgarh–covering about 478.6 kms have been sanctioned over the past one decade but 214.8 kms of road construction is still pending, according to senior home ministry officials.

    “The decision has been taken in view of the marked improvement in the security situation on the ground. The target is to complete 76.8 km of pending road construction by June next year and the remaining pending work will be completed on a priority basis in the next few years too. Idea is to reclaim the region in Maoists’ heartland and uproot them,” a top home ministry official said.

    The enormity of completing the construction of these roads can be gauged from the fact that as many as 53 CRPF personnel have been killed during the construction of these roads over the last eight years. 17 CRPF jawans have been injured too during construction work of these roads since 2014, home ministry data accessed by this newspaper reveals. The Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force, the primary combat force against Naxals in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism, has instructed the troops on the ground to expedite completion of work of the 12 critical roads on mission mode in coordination with Chhattisgarh police, sources said.

    Of the 12 roads, five falls in Sukma district, one in Dantewada, and four are in the Bijapur district while two roads are located on the Bijapur-Sukma border and Dantewada-Sukma border. The roads will not only prove pivotal for the development of locals in the area but it would be a victory of security forces against Maoists in their strongest base.

    According to sources, two such roads — one connecting Bheji to Chintagufa (which is to be about 30 km long) and the other 8 km long stretch Golapalli to Paidagudem-were sanctioned in the year 2012 and 2015—but the work on these roads is yet to begin. However, the government has set a target of 10 km stretch of Bheji-Chintagufa road by June next year and the entire Golapalli-Paidagudem is to be built by March next year.

    Another 38.8-km long crucial road connecting Pali to Barsoor in Dantewada district–that was sanctioned in July 2010–is to be completed by June next year, as per the government’s blueprint.

    For the important 56-km long Dornapal-Jagargunda road that was sanctioned in September 2015, 22-km work is still pending and the government is eying a target of mid-2023 to complete the stretch, sources said.

    The decision has been taken in view of the steep decline in violence levels as well as the geographical spread of Left-wing extremism in the country over the past decade. CRPF has not suffered a single casualty during road construction activities in the past four years which is a big achievement of the force, a senior CRPF official pointed out.

    “Maoists know the roads will be a big setback for them and therefore, time and again they have launched some of their deadliest attacks against security forces involved in the construction process to delay the construction work,” said the paramilitary official, who is posted in Chhattisgarh.

    The quadrilateral patch of Sukma, from Dornapal to Kistaram and Bheji to Jagargunda on Gollapalli track serves as a haven for Naxals. The area helps ultras in movement across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana Odisha and Maharashtra through Chhattisgarh, but also for their guerrilla warfare training amid the dense forests and inaccessible terrain. 

  • India to construct 12 crucial roads in ‘mission mode’ to neutralise Naxal menace

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: In what may turn out to be a decisive, final step in the country’s battle against Naxals, the government has ordered construction work in ‘mission mode’ of 12 crucial roads that lie deep in the Naxal dominated belt.

    Sources told this newspaper that construction work on some of these roads has been pending for more than a decade now. The roads, once constructed, will allow mass mobilization of security forces in areas that the forces have not been able to penetrate till now in large numbers. Some of these roads were functional, sources added, till around three decades ago when Naxals blew them up with the purpose of keeping the forces away.

    These 12 crucial roads, located in the three worst Naxal-hit districts in the country—Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada; all in Chhattisgarh–covering about 478.6 kms have been sanctioned over the past one decade but 214.8 kms of road construction is still pending, according to senior home ministry officials.

    “The decision has been taken in view of the marked improvement in the security situation on the ground. The target is to complete 76.8 km of pending road construction by June next year and the remaining pending work will be completed on a priority basis in the next few years too. Idea is to reclaim the region in Maoists’ heartland and uproot them,” a top home ministry official said.

    The enormity of completing the construction of these roads can be gauged from the fact that as many as 53 CRPF personnel have been killed during the construction of these roads over the last eight years. 17 CRPF jawans have been injured too during construction work of these roads since 2014, home ministry data accessed by this newspaper reveals. The Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force, the primary combat force against Naxals in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism, has instructed the troops on the ground to expedite completion of work of the 12 critical roads on mission mode in coordination with Chhattisgarh police, sources said.

    Of the 12 roads, five falls in Sukma district, one in Dantewada, and four are in the Bijapur district while two roads are located on the Bijapur-Sukma border and Dantewada-Sukma border. The roads will not only prove pivotal for the development of locals in the area but it would be a victory of security forces against Maoists in their strongest base.

    According to sources, two such roads — one connecting Bheji to Chintagufa (which is to be about 30 km long) and the other 8 km long stretch Golapalli to Paidagudem-were sanctioned in the year 2012 and 2015—but the work on these roads is yet to begin. However, the government has set a target of 10 km stretch of Bheji-Chintagufa road by June next year and the entire Golapalli-Paidagudem is to be built by March next year.

    Another 38.8-km long crucial road connecting Pali to Barsoor in Dantewada district–that was sanctioned in July 2010–is to be completed by June next year, as per the government’s blueprint.

    For the important 56-km long Dornapal-Jagargunda road that was sanctioned in September 2015, 22-km work is still pending and the government is eying a target of mid-2023 to complete the stretch, sources said.

    The decision has been taken in view of the steep decline in violence levels as well as the geographical spread of Left-wing extremism in the country over the past decade. CRPF has not suffered a single casualty during road construction activities in the past four years which is a big achievement of the force, a senior CRPF official pointed out.

    “Maoists know the roads will be a big setback for them and therefore, time and again they have launched some of their deadliest attacks against security forces involved in the construction process to delay the construction work,” said the paramilitary official, who is posted in Chhattisgarh.

    The quadrilateral patch of Sukma, from Dornapal to Kistaram and Bheji to Jagargunda on Gollapalli track serves as a haven for Naxals. The area helps ultras in movement across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana Odisha and Maharashtra through Chhattisgarh, but also for their guerrilla warfare training amid the dense forests and inaccessible terrain. 

  • Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel skips Amit Shah’s meet on Left Wing Extremism 

    By PTI

    RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday skipped a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Left Wing Extremism (LWE).

    The chief ministers of 10 Naxal-hit states, including Chhattisgarh, were invited to the meeting during which Shah was to take stock of the ongoing operations against the ultras and development activities undertaken at the ground level, officials said.

    “Chhattisgarh’s Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain and Director General of Police D M Awasthi have gone to the national capital on the CM’s behalf to attend the meeting,” a public relations department official said.

    Baghel was scheduled to attend a convention of Chandranahu Kurmi Samaj in the state’s Mahasamund district on Sunday afternoon, he said.

    The CM has skipped the crucial meeting at a time when the LWE situation in Chhattisgarh could be a key agenda of discussion as the state has witnessed several deadly attacks on security forces by Naxals in the last few years.

    Senior state officials said the issue of setting up camps of security forces in Bastar, particularly in its southern part that comprises Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada, was likely to be discussed in Shah’s meeting in Delhi on Sunday.

    Construction of roads and other development works in the strife-torn areas of the state were also likely to be discussed, they said.

    Chhattisgarh recorded the highest number of crimes committed by Maoists in 2020, according to the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) annual report released recently.

    As per data of the Chhattisgarh police, the Naxal violence has claimed lives of 1,237 security personnel, mostly belonging to paramilitary forces, and 1,615 civilians from 2001 to June this year in the state.

    During the same period, bodies of 1,027 Naxals were also recovered following encounters with security forces, while 4,552 ultras surrendered.

    The state’s eight districts -, Bastar, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Sukma (all in Bastar region) and Rajnandgaon – are among most Naxal-hit districts in the country, and have been battling the menace for over three decades.

    After assuming charge as the Union home minister, Shah had for the first time visited the insurgency-hit Bastar division in April this year, after 22 security personnel were killed and 31 others injured in a Maoist ambush along the border of the region’s Sukma and Bijapur districts.

    Shah had then held a high-level meeting in Jagdalpur on the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) situation with Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and senior officials of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

    In January this year, Baghel had chaired a meeting of unified command here to review the security situation and development works in Naxal-affected areas of the state.

    The CM had then said his government’s three-pronged strategy of trust, development and security helped in pushing Naxals on the back foot, and success will be achieved in cornering ultras in the coming days.

  • Rakhi threads symbolise trust over violence in strife-torn Dantewada, Sukma

    Express News Service

    RAIPUR: The strife-torn region of Dantewada district on the auspicious occasion of Rakshabandhan came alive on Sunday with several surrendered Maoists getting rakhis tied on their wrists. Many of them carried a cash reward on their heads. 

    Sisters were seen tying the sacred thread on their brother’s wrist praying for their long blissful life as they took a pledge on assurance of protection.

    In another insurgncy-hit district of Sukma, many tribal girls and women at Erranore were seen tying the rakhis on a statue created in the memory of local security personnel who killed while fighting the Maoists. Some local tribals have the practise of erecting a memorial of their dear ones who are no more. 

    Over a hundred Maoists who had surrendered during the past one year under the campaign ‘Lon Varratu’ (in local tribal Gondi dialect meaning return to your home/village intended for the Maoist cadres) called themselves blessed to celebrate Rakshabandhan. Ever since the Dantewada Police launched the drive in July 2020, as many as 408 cadres have surrendered. 

    “Around 80 surrendered rebels celebrated rakhi for the first time. There are around 20 naxals, who couldn’t return to their remotely located villages owing to perceived threat to their lives or their relatives, celebrated the festival in the district headquarters. There are over 650 naxals who also have their rights despite lodged in district jail to get opportunity to be part of celebration with the relatives within the prison premises,” said Abhishek Pallava, Dantewada superintendent of police.

    The sisters and relatives were called by the district police to observe the occasion reverent with enthusiasm on being with brothers who are the surrendered Maoists.

    “It was a delightful sentiment which we had not experienced before owing to obvious reasons. The feelings of love and safety from brothers were astounding,” said Laxmi Punem after tying the sacred thread on wrist of Suresh Kadti who carried the reward of 5 lakh

    “We never realised the significance of Raksha Bandhan while earlier associated with the banned outfit,” revealed Durgesh Sori and Lakhan Gangu, former commanders in the Maoist organisation.

  • Chhattisgarh: 12 civilians injured in IED blast set-up by Maoists

    Express News Service

    RAIPUR: Twelve civilians were injured after the vehicle they were onboard was hit by a powerful improvised explosion device (IED), triggered by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) at Ghotiya in the strife-torn Dantewada district on Thursday morning.

    “There were 12 persons in the ill-fated Bolero jeep, which was on its way to Dantewada from Narayanpur district. The security forces reached the spot to assist the injured taken to the district hospital. The condition of two injured are stated to be critical,” said Abhishek Pallava, Dantewada, district Superintendent of Police.

    The district police led by Pallava reached the spot to lend the helping hand to the injured in reaching the hospital.

    Dantewada and Narayanpur are among the seven Maoist-affected districts in the conflict zone of Bastar, south Chhattisgarh.

  • 11 Maoists surrender in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district

    By PTI
    DANTEWADA: As many as 11 Naxals, one of them carrying a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh on her head, surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit Dantewada district on Wednesday, police said.

    The surrender coincided with the start of the `martyrs’ week’ observed by the Maoists for their slain colleagues, a police official pointed out.

    The cadres, who were associated with the `Malangir Area Committee’ of the rebels, turned themselves in at Kirandul police station citing disappointment with the “hollow” Maoist ideology, district superintendent of police Abhishek Pallava said.

    The surrender of their colleagues under the district police’s `Lon Varratu’ (return home) campaign encouraged them, the SP added.

    Of those who surrendered on Wednesday, Rambati Barse (24) was president of the Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangathan (KAMS), a Maoist front, and carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh on her head.

    Others, including two more women, were associated with the jan-militia, KAMS and Bhumakal committee of the rebels, he said.

    The surrendered ultras were given immediate assistance of Rs 10,000 each and will be provided facilities as per the government’s surrender and rehabilitation policy, SP Pallava added.

    Since the launch of the Lon Varratu initiative in June 2020, 397 naxals have surrendered in the district, he said.

  • Chhattisgarh: Three Maoists killed in gun-battle with security forces

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: Security forces on Thursday gunned down three cadres of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in an exchange of fire at Bhairamgarh in an edgy district of Dantewada, about 450 km south of Raipur.

    “Based on the intelligence inputs about the movement of Maoists in the region, a team of District Reserve Guards (DRG) left on a search operation. There was an encounter at around 6 pm at the hilly terrain of Dholkal and Pedapal. Three Maoists were killed. The bodies have been identified”, said Dantewada superintendent of police Abhishek Pallava.

    Two of the three rebels killed were carrying a bounty of Rs one lakh. 

    The forces also recovered three country made weapons, three kg IED and other items of daily use, the SP added.

    There was however no report of any injury or casualty sustained by the forces.

    Dantewada in south Bastar is among the 14 Maoist-affected districts of Chhattisgarh.