Fifteen Maoists have surrendered before Maharashtra Home Minister R. R. Patil at Gadchiroli. The six women and nine men, who surrendered at the office of the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, here yesterday, said that the ultras had lost focus and deviated from the main grounds of their struggle. Moreover, they said that the lack of basic necessities had strayed them away after they abandoned their homes for the cause. “It had become a little difficult as medicines, treatment facilities, food and basic amenities were not being provided to us. So we thought of surrendering to spend our life with our families,” Lalasu Rama, one of surrendered Maoist, said. Vicky, another surrendered Maoist who researched on people for the rebels, said that he felt satisfied after surrendering because he had now left a life, which was rooted in rigid regimes in the camps leaving him with no liberty to move around. “I am feeling very good after surrendering because I get to meet friends and go out with them. I will now think about what I want to do with my future,” said Vicky. Besides repenting for their past acts, the surrendered Maoists also revealed about the violence unleashed by the senior cadres on fellow crusaders. Some of the surrendered rebels are reported to have been involved in some of the gory activities executed in this area. All the Maoists, who surrendered on Friday, were active in the regions bordering the states of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. The Maharashtra Police had launched a multi-pronged programme to demoralise and defeat the Maoists. One of them was granting of amnesty to the hardcore cadres. To promote such surrender and shun acts of violence, the Maharashtra Home Minister lauded the initiative of these 15 Maoists. (ANI)
