Gadchiroli:

A woman maoist booked for a murder and an attack on security forces and carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh surrendered before the police and CRPF in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Saturday, officials said.

Rina Narote, alias Lalita, was a commander of the ‘Tailor Team’ and was responsible for logistics in the entire Gadchiroli Division of the CPI (Maoist), police said in a release.

The 36-year-old woman maoist, a resident of Gadchiroli, is named in a murder case and an attack on security personnel, it said.

The Maharashtra government had announced a reward of Rs 8 lakh for her capture. She surrendered before police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials, it said.

Police said Narote will receive Rs 5.5 lakh under the policies of the Centre and state for the rehabilitation of surrendered maoists.

Intensified anti-Maoist operations in the district and the opportunity provided by the state government for maoists to “surrender and lead a respectful life” has resulted in 23 hardcore rebels turning themselves in before the Gadchiroli police since 2022.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Maoist leader Arnab Dam, who is currently in jail in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, appeared for an interview in the Burdwan State University on Wednesday for his PhD degree in history.

Dam, who appeared for the interview under the watch of the police, is in jail in connection with an attack on the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) camp at Silda in West Midnapore district in February 2010.

He was convicted in February last year.

Dam had cleared the State Eligibility Test (SET) after appearing for the examination from jail. As the prison authorities were reluctant to allow him to do his PhD, he sat on a fast.

After the human rights group Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) took up Dam’s case, the prison authorities softened their stand.

Dam is known to be a meritorious student who cleared the IIT entrance test and got into IIT-Kharagpur. While on campus, he got attracted to Maoist ideology and absconded after his third-semester exam.

He was arrested in 2012 as an accused in the Silda EFR camp attack case.

Dam completed his graduation and post-graduation from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) while in prison. Thereafter, he applied for a PhD from the Burdwan State University.

Gadchiroli:

Dreaded Maoist Nangsu Tumreti alias Giridhar, who has more than 170 cases registered against his name and a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on his head, surrendered along with his wife in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Saturday in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a police official said.

His wife Sangeeta Usendi alias Lalita has 17 cases against her name and a bounty of Rs 16 lakh on her head, the official added.

Giridhar, who joined the Etapalli Dalam of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in 1996, is the head of the proscribed movement’s activities in Gadchiroli, the official said.

“He has 179 cases against his name, including 86 related to encounters and 15 of arson. His wife Sangeeta Usendi alias Lalita has 17 cases against her name and a bounty of Rs 16 lakh on her head. Giridhar will get Rs 15 lakh and Lalita Rs 8.50 lakh from Central and state governments under the surrender and rehabilitation scheme,” the official added.

Speaking to reporters, Devendra Fadnavis said the backbone of the Maoist movement in Gadchiroli has broken with the surrender of Giridhar.

He lauded the Gadchiroli police for its relentless efforts to end the Naxal menace and bring ultras back into the mainstream.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)