A Naxalite commander, who was allegedly involved in deadly attacks and carried a bounty of Rs 8 lakh, surrendered before the security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Monday, police said.
Nagesh alias Pedkam Erra (38) turned himself in before the police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials, citing disappointment with the "inhumane" and "hollow" Maoist ideology, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran G Chavan said.
The surrendered Naxalite also said he was impressed by the district police's rehabilitation drive 'Puna Narkom' (a term coined in the local Gondi dialect which means New Dawn, New Beginning), he said.
Erra joined the outlawed movement in 2003 as a local organisation squad (LOS) member and was elevated as the company commander of PLGA battalion no.1 of Maoists in 2015, the official said.
He was allegedly involved in several deadly attacks, including the Tadmetla (then in Dantewada district) massacre in 2010, in which 76 troopers were killed, and the 2017 Burkapal attack wherein 25 CRPF personnel lost their lives, he said. Erra will be provided facilities as per the Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy of the state government.
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