Six important Maoist cadres including two 18-year-old females of Andhra-Odisha Special Zonal Committee surrendered before the State police. They were produced before the media by Director General of Police D. Gautam Sawang.
The six including two from Visakhapatnam and four from Chattisgarh were involved in 127 offences including 17 murders over the past one and a half decades.
Mr. Sawang said that the main reasons for the cadres to quit CPI (Maoist) party was dwindling support from the tribal population, lack of recruitment from tribals and discrimination of tribal cadres by top leadership among others.
The six cadres surrendered include Chikkudu Chinna Rao alias Sudheer (32), who was Divisional Committee Member of Peddabailu-Korukunda division commander of divisional command, Vanthala Vannu alias Mahita (25), area committee member, Madaka Somidi (25), area committee member, Madakam Manglu alais Deepak, protection team member, Poyam Rukini alias Rinky (18) and Sodi Bheeme (18).
Ms. Mahita and Ms. Somidi were gunmen part of the protection team of a top leader.
Chinna Rao alone was involved in 93 offences including 14 murders and 11 exchanges of fire and seven land mine blasts. There was a reward of ₹16 lakh on the six cadres.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Sawang said that Maoists were unable to sustain due to lack of support from the tribals population and penetration of the government schemes into the tribal hamlets through the volunteer system.
“They lost the patronage of the tribals and were finding causes to fight after the land and other issues of tribals were settled with government schemes. All these developments made them redundant and irrelevant,” Mr. Sawang said.
“I appeal to the Maoist cadres to come forward taking advantage of the surrender policy offered by the State government and shun violence,” he said. He said in the last two years cadre strength came down to 54 from 140 and two companies including 50 members each were reduced to mere ten member platoon.
One of the female cadre said that she joined the party after she was forcefully married to a person when she was a child.
