Chhattisgarh: Dreaded Naxal, Involved in Abduction of Ex-Sukma Collector, Among 23 Ultras Surrender
Bheema, who was Maoists’ South Sub Zone Bureau team commander, along with his unit members stormed a government function in a village under Sukma district on March 12, 2012 and abducted Mr. Menon, the then Sukma collector.
Raipur: Dreaded Maoist Lokesh alias Podium Bheema, allegedly involved in the abduction of IAS officer Alex Paul Menon in 2012, was among 23 ultras, surrendered in Sukma under south Bastar in Chhattisgarh on Saturday.
Bheema, who was Maoists’ South Sub Zone Bureau team commander, along with his unit members stormed a government function in a village under Sukma district on March 12, 2012 and abducted Mr. Menon, the then Sukma collector.
Mr. Menon had remained in the Maoist captivity for 13 days before being set free.
Bheem was also allegedly involved in several major attacks on security forces in Bastar including ambushes on the CRPF parties at Burkhapal in 2017 and Tekalguda in 2021 (both in Bijapur district in south Bastar) killing 25 jawans and 21 security personnel respectively.
“Bheema’s surrender has dealt a big blow to the Maoist movement in south Bastar”, a senior police officer said.
Of the 23 surrendered Naxals, 11 carried a bounty of Rs eight lakh each, four carried rewards of Rs five lakh each, one carried a bounty of Rs three lakh and seven others had a reward of Rs one lakh each on their heads, according to Sukma district superintendent of police (SP) Kiran Chavan.
Of them, one is in the rank of divisional committee member (DVCM), six were Platform Party Committee Members (PPCM), four were area committee members (ACM) and 12 were People’s Guerrilla Liberation Army (PLGA) members.
With this, a total 57 Naxals surrendered in Bastar in the last three days.
While 22 Maoists surrendered in Narayanpur district in south Bastar on Friday, 12 ultras laid down arms in Bijapur on July 10.
Hailing the surrender of 23 Naxals in Sukma, chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said “This is not just a surrender; it is a victory of trust- the trust our government has built by taking development to the remotest corners through people-centric schemes like ‘Niyad Nella Naar’ (a Gondi term meaning come back home). Today it is not bullets but the voice of development that can be heard in Bastar’.
He added that 1,521 Naxals have surrendered in Bastar in the past 15 months, which is a strong indicator of the increasing reach and trust of the government in the Maoist-affected regions.