86 Maoists, including 20 women, surrender to Telangana police
What's the story
In a major development, 86 members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) party surrendered before the Telangana Police in Bhadradri Kothagudem district on Saturday.
The group included 20 women cadres. The police immediately provided the former Maoists with cash assistance of ₹25,000.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah was visiting Chhattisgarh's Dantewada for a tribal cultural event then and had urged Maoists to lay down weapons and rejoin society.
Diverse backgrounds
Various formations represented among surrendered Maoists
The surrendered Maoists were from different formations.
This included 4 area committee members, 5 party members, 8 from the Revolutionary People's Committee (RPC), and 27 RPC militia.
Other groups represented included 20 of the RPC Dandakaranya Adivasi Mazdoor Kisan Sangh (DAKMS/KMS), 13 RPC Chaitanya Natya Mandali (CNM) members, and 9 RPC Gram Raksha Dal (GRD) members.
Change of heart
Surrender driven by desire for peaceful life
The surrender was motivated by a wish to live peacefully with their families.
They contacted the IGP Multi Zone-I in Kothagudem district after hearing about the welfare measures for surrendered Maoists and development schemes for tribals under the 'Operation Cheyutha' program by the Telangana Police Department.
The number of Maoists to have surrendered this year in Bhadradri Kothagudem and Mulugu now touches 224.
Support structures
Surrender policy and rehabilitation support for former Maoists
Inspector General of Police, Multi-Zone 1, S Chandrasekhar Reddy confirmed that the surrendered Maoists included two divisional committee members and 10 area committee members.
They decided to avail benefits under the Telangana Government's surrender policy and other schemes, he said.
The Telangana police department has urged other Maoist cadres wishing to surrender to contact their nearest police stations or senior district officials through family members or in person.