Senior Maoist leader Babarao, the last active senior commander in Bastar district, has come forward to surrender along with 17 other cadres in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh Police said on Tuesday.
Babarao was a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zone Committee (DKSZC) and was in-charge of the South Sub-Zone Office. And he has a reward $25 lakh.
Among the 18 Maoists who surrendered were subcommittee members Prakash Madhvi and Anil Tati.
A statement issued by the Bastar police said the 18 Maoists agreed to renounce violence and join the mainstream in a “decisive breakthrough” in the ongoing efforts to eliminate Maoists from the region.
This development is evidence that the goal of liberating Bastar from the Naxals is steadily becoming a reality, the police said, adding that this is the first time in the history of the Maoist movement in Dandakaranya district that the organization has been left without effective leadership.
The statement said: “This represents a decisive success in our continuing efforts to end left-wing extremism in the region.”
Officials said it was hoped that the remaining cadres working in small, dispersed groups would surrender.
The formal reintegration process for the surrendered cadres will be carried out at a later date.
