RAIPUR: A small village in Sukma that had little claim to fame apart from showing up on the ‘low-literacy chart' has suddenly been catapulted to the limelight as all 11 youths who had joined Maoists and taken up arms against govt, surrendered on Friday.
Badesatti is the first village in Bastar division to be tagged ‘Maoist-free'. It's now eligible for development projects worth Rs 1 crore. Coming from Sukma — once the hotbed of Naxalism — this is a clear picture of the tide turning.
Less than two weeks ago, during his visit to Dantewada — once the bastion of Maoist insurgency — Union home minister Amit Shah had praised Chhattisgarh govt's recent announcement of granting Rs 1 crore to each village that declares itself ‘Naxal-free' and ensures surrender of Maoists. Shah urged to hold village meetings, reach out to those still in the fold of extremism, and convince them to surrender.
The same strategy was followed in Badesatti, a tribal hamlet around 35km from Sukma district headquarters and 430km from Raipur. The Odisha border is barely a 20-minute drive.
"For the last 15 days, police have been in contact with Badesatti panchayat representatives to encourage village-level members like militia and revolutionary party committee of the banned outfit to surrender," Sukma SP Kiran Chavan said on Friday.
The day started with the surrender of a group of 22 Maoists — including nine women — before police and CRPF officials. A couple of hours later, 11 others, including two women, also turned themselves in, saying they were disillusioned with the hollow ideology of Maoists and insecurity of life on the run in jungles. They wished to avail benefits of the new surrender and rehabilitation policy and lead a normal life, said the SP.
Eleven of them turned out to be active Maoists from Badesatti village. "Now, the village has become a Naxalite-free panchayat," SP Chavan said, adding that four of these cadres carried rewards of Rs 2 lakh each, and one carried a bounty of Rs 50,000.
The surrendered cadres said that they were moved by the development work and benefits under Niyad Nellanar scheme in remote villages of Bastar. Sukma district police, District Reserve Guard, CRPF, and CoBRA played a crucial role in the surrenders, said the SP.
Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma, who is also the home minister, announced that under the new Chhattisgarh Naxal Surrender/Victim Relief and Rehabilitation Policy-2025, the state govt has introduced ‘Elvad Panchayat Yojana' under which govt will sanction development projects worth Rs 1 crore to village panchayats that are Naxal free.
The surrendered Maoists were active in the Marh area of Chhattisgarh and Nuapada in Odisha, the SP said. Among those who surrendered were a couple — Muchaki Joga, deputy commander in PLGA company 1, and his wife Muchaki Jogi, a member of the same squad. They carried rewards of Rs 8 lakh each.
Among others who carried bounties were area committee members Kikid Deve and Manoj alias Dudhi Budhra, who had rewards of Rs 5 lakh each. Seven other cadres carried bounties of Rs 2 lakh each, and a small-time cadre carried a reward of Rs 50,000. They were all involved in incidents of violence and crime, said police.
All the surrendered Naxalites were provided an immediate assistance of Rs 50,000 each. Other benefits under the rehab policy will follow, Chavan said.
Badesatti is the first village in Bastar division to be tagged ‘Maoist-free'. It's now eligible for development projects worth Rs 1 crore. Coming from Sukma — once the hotbed of Naxalism — this is a clear picture of the tide turning.
Less than two weeks ago, during his visit to Dantewada — once the bastion of Maoist insurgency — Union home minister Amit Shah had praised Chhattisgarh govt's recent announcement of granting Rs 1 crore to each village that declares itself ‘Naxal-free' and ensures surrender of Maoists. Shah urged to hold village meetings, reach out to those still in the fold of extremism, and convince them to surrender.
The same strategy was followed in Badesatti, a tribal hamlet around 35km from Sukma district headquarters and 430km from Raipur. The Odisha border is barely a 20-minute drive.
"For the last 15 days, police have been in contact with Badesatti panchayat representatives to encourage village-level members like militia and revolutionary party committee of the banned outfit to surrender," Sukma SP Kiran Chavan said on Friday.
The day started with the surrender of a group of 22 Maoists — including nine women — before police and CRPF officials. A couple of hours later, 11 others, including two women, also turned themselves in, saying they were disillusioned with the hollow ideology of Maoists and insecurity of life on the run in jungles. They wished to avail benefits of the new surrender and rehabilitation policy and lead a normal life, said the SP.
Eleven of them turned out to be active Maoists from Badesatti village. "Now, the village has become a Naxalite-free panchayat," SP Chavan said, adding that four of these cadres carried rewards of Rs 2 lakh each, and one carried a bounty of Rs 50,000.
The surrendered cadres said that they were moved by the development work and benefits under Niyad Nellanar scheme in remote villages of Bastar. Sukma district police, District Reserve Guard, CRPF, and CoBRA played a crucial role in the surrenders, said the SP.
Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma, who is also the home minister, announced that under the new Chhattisgarh Naxal Surrender/Victim Relief and Rehabilitation Policy-2025, the state govt has introduced ‘Elvad Panchayat Yojana' under which govt will sanction development projects worth Rs 1 crore to village panchayats that are Naxal free.
The surrendered Maoists were active in the Marh area of Chhattisgarh and Nuapada in Odisha, the SP said. Among those who surrendered were a couple — Muchaki Joga, deputy commander in PLGA company 1, and his wife Muchaki Jogi, a member of the same squad. They carried rewards of Rs 8 lakh each.
Among others who carried bounties were area committee members Kikid Deve and Manoj alias Dudhi Budhra, who had rewards of Rs 5 lakh each. Seven other cadres carried bounties of Rs 2 lakh each, and a small-time cadre carried a reward of Rs 50,000. They were all involved in incidents of violence and crime, said police.
All the surrendered Naxalites were provided an immediate assistance of Rs 50,000 each. Other benefits under the rehab policy will follow, Chavan said.
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