Today a big achievement has been achieved in the direction of peace and development in Bastar. Naxalite commander and member of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) Papa Rao along with his 17 associates have surrendered before the top officials of Bastar police and administration.
On this occasion, state DGP Arun Singh Dev Gautam, ADG (Naxal) Vivekananda Sinha and Bastar IG Sundarraj P. were present. During the surrender, the heads of the tribal society welcomed these former Naxalites who returned to the mainstream by gifting them a copy of the Constitution and flowers.
Home Minister gave figures of 2 years
State Home Minister and Deputy CM Vijay Sharma, who reached the dedication ceremony, while addressing the press conference, said that now there is not even a single DKSZC level Maoist left active in Bastar and only a few Maoists are left. Rehabilitation process will be ensured for them also. He said that in the last two years, more than 3,000 Maoists have surrendered and more than 2,000 Naxalites have been arrested.
Apart from this, security forces have killed 525 Maoists in different encounters in the last two years. ISRO’s satellite technology has helped the force a lot in eliminating Naxalism. The Home Minister announced that as peace is being restored, 400 security camps in Bastar will be removed and converted into Minor Forest Produce Centres. This will provide employment to the local tribals and strengthen the economy of the area. Now other Naxal affected districts of Chhattisgarh are also on the way to becoming completely Naxal free.
Now about 40 Naxalites left in South Bastar
Bastar IG Sunderraj P. said that DKSZC member of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and incharge of South Sub-Zone Bureau Paparao along with three DVCMs Prakash Madvi, Anil Tati and Vilas Poyam, including 7 women Maoist cadres, a total of 18 Maoist cadres along with Rs 12 lakh cash, 8 AK-47, SLR, INSAS. 303, BGL launchers and other weapons and material, they have renounced violence and joined the mainstream of society.
He was welcomed by the government. The IG said that the senior leadership in Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee area has almost ended. Paparao was the only one left. Today, after his rehabilitation, top level leadership has become zero in Bastar area. The remaining Maoist cadres are around 40 to 50 in number, who are in small groups in different districts under Bastar division. They are also being continuously appealed to surrender before the fixed deadline of 31st March.
Bastar will be made IED free
State Director General of Police Arun Dev Gautam said that this is a big achievement for Bastar Police. Home Minister of the country Amit Shah Many big Maoists have surrendered before the deadline issued by the IPC. DGP said that paramilitary force and local police force have the biggest contribution in eliminating Maoism from Bastar.
He said that after Bastar becomes Naxal free, Chhattisgarh Police will stay in the security camps of Paramilitary Force established in the interior areas and will protect those areas. Apart from this, he said that the IEDs planted by Naxalites are a big challenge for the police. All the villages of Bastar will be made IED free by searching for explosive IEDs on the information of all the big Naxalite leaders and small cadre Naxalites who have surrendered.
Top leadership in Maoist organization reduced to zero
The surrender of DKSZC member Papa Rao is the beginning of the ‘final chapter’ of Naxalism that has been going on for decades in Bastar. With the surrender of DKSZC member Papa Rao and three other Divisional Committee Members (DVCM), the ‘top level leadership’ of Maoists in Bastar has now come to naught.