As many as six suspected Maoists are said to have expressed a wish to return to the mainstream, following efforts of a State committee to oversee the implementation of the rehabilitation policy to assimilate/surrender Left-wing extremists.
Mundagaru Latha, Sundari Kutlur, Vanajakshi Balehole, Mareppa Aroli, Vasanth T.N., and Jeesha are said to have consulted members of the State committee in this regard, sources said. All of them are expected to appear before the Chikkamagaluru district administration in a couple of days and make a statement of their wish to join the mainstream. Of them, four are from Karnataka and one each from Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The members of the committee and people representing Shantigagi Nagarikera Vedike, a citizens’ forum for peace, held a meeting with senior officers of the State government in Bengaluru on Saturday.
On behalf of the suspected Maoists, they appealed to officials that the government should ensure that those who return to the mainstream do not languish in jail for a long time, as it happened in the case of those who accepted the surrender policy earlier.
Earlier this year, a group of eight Naxals returned to Karnataka from the tri-junction point, in the midst of Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
Among them, Vikram Gowda was killed in an encounter on November 18, 2024. Of the remaining seven, six are said to be ready to accept the surrender policy and return to the mainstream.
Published – January 05, 2025 06:16 pm IST
