Maoist cadre from Chhattisgarh surrenders before Odisha Police

BHUBANESWAR: In yet another blow to CPI (Maoist), a senior Maoist cadre of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh surrendered before Odisha Police on Sunday.

Kandhamal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division's area committee member Aitu Korsa alias Surjan of Mankeli village surrendered before DIG Northern Range Deepak Kumar at Balangir.

Police sources said the Maoist cadre was reportedly nabbed by Balangir police when he was going to Khaprakhol area in the district.

At the age of 14, Korsa had joined the banned organisation as a party member in 2012 and a year later he was transferred to Sunabeda division. He stayed in Sunabeda for two months and was shifted to Bargarh-Balangir-Mahasamund (BBM) division in 2013 when he started carrying a 12 bore gun.

In 2016, Korsa was transferred to KKBN division and he worked under the leadership of Dasru Punem, who was a member of the military platoon number - 2 of Maoists. Punem was gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district in June last year.

Korsa was promoted to the rank of area committee member (ACM) of the Kodanga Mahanadi Sanjukta committee in 2018.

Police said, between December 2017 and July this year, the left-wing extremist was involved in various firing cases and improvised explosive device (IED) blasts under Phiringia and Gochhapada police limits.

Korsa had also killed a civilian Kailash in 2019 suspecting him to be a police informer.

He has revealed before the police that some local/active red rebels are also willing to surrender and join the mainstream because of the torturous behaviour of Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh cadres. However, they are not allowed to do so by the senior Maoist leaders, who have been threatening of killing them and
their family members.

DGP Abhay appealed to the ultras to lay down their arms and avail monetary assistance as per the surrender and rehabilitation scheme of the Odisha government.

The surrendered ultras will be properly rehabilitated and they will also get financial assistance for building houses, pursuing studies and getting training in a trade/vocation of their choice, he said.

While 21 rebels had surrendered before Odisha Police in 2020, at least 10 have laid down their arms so far this year.