Chhattisgarh: Maoist CCM Ramdher Surrenders Along With 11 Others

Raipur: In a major breakthrough in the counterinsurgency campaign in Central India, Maoist Central Committee Member (CCM) Ramdher on Monday surrendered along with 11 senior Naxal cadres in Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh.

The 12 surrendered Maoists cumulatively carried a bounty of Rs 2.95 crore.

Ramdher (53), alias Horpu, alias Dev Majji, was in charge of the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) zone of Naxals and carried a bounty of Rs 1.05 crore.

They surrendered along with their weapons before Chhattisgarh director general of police (DGP) Arun Dev Gautam, and additional DGP (intelligence) Vivekanand Sinha in Rajnandgaon.

Three AK-47 rifles, three INSAS rifles, one SLR, two numbers of .303 rifles and one 30 carbine gun were among the automatic weapons that were returned to the police by the surrendered Naxals.

Prominent among the surrendered Maoists, besides Ramdher, were Divisional Committee Members (DVCMs) Chandu, Anita, Prem, and Janaki, who carried a bounty of Rs 33 lakh each, area committee members (ACMs) Ramsingh and Sukes,h who carried a reward of Rs 14 lakh each.

The development comes a day after ten senior Maoists, including Kanha-Bhoramdeo (KB) division secretary Kabir alias Surendra, who carried a reward of Rs 62 lakhs on his head, surrendered in Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh.

The KB division comes under the jurisdiction of the MMC zone of Maoists.

“Two days ago, Ramdher and 11 other Naxals had managed to escape during an encounter in Balaghat. They surrendered in Chhattisgarh (on Monday). With this, MMC zone is now more or less Naxal-free”, the director general of police, Madhya Pradesh, Kailash Makwana said.

The surrender of the MMC zone Maoist leaders has also made the famous Kanha Tiger Reserve (KTR) in Madhya Pradesh Naxal-free, the MP police said.

Four out of the six core zones of the KTR were under Maoist control.