Maoist couple with bounty of `1 cr, 17 others surrender; Odisha to be Naxal free, says CM

Bhubaneswar: A Maoist couple, each carrying a reward of Rs 55.10 lakh on their heads, and 17 other red rebels surrendered before the Odisha Police on Friday, following which Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi claimed the state would turn ‘Naxal Free’ by March 31.

The surrendered couple is CPI (Maoist)’s state committee members Niranjan Rout (45) alias Nikhil, and his 42-year-old wife Rashmira Lenka, also known as Indu, Director General of Police Y B Khurania said.

Both are state committee members, the second highest rung in the CPI (Maoist) hierarchy after the central committee (CC), the DGP said in a press conference here.

Earlier, Rout and his wife had written to the Odisha government expressing their willingness to surrender.

“Today, Odisha has achieved a major breakthrough in the national mission to eliminate Left Wing Extremism and build a Naxal-free India,” the chief minister, who is also in charge of the home department, said in a post on X.

Majhi said that the central government’s policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and extremism, coupled with unwavering support to the states, has brought our campaign against Left Wing Extremism to a “decisive stage”.

“My government stands resolutely committed to eliminating Maoist violence from Odisha and to achieving the goal of a completely Maoist-free state by 31st March,” the CM said.

The DGP said that Rout, Lenka and 13 others surrendered before the Superintendent of Police of Rayagada, while four other party members renounced violence in Kandhamal district.

Regarding the surrender of 15 Maoists in Rayagada, Khurania said all of them were cadres of Bansadhara-Ghumusar-Nagabali (BGN) division of the out-lawed CPI(Maoist).

“Apart from the Maoist couple, 13 more cadres of BGN division have also surrendered. A total of 14 modern guns have been seized from them,” he said.

Those seized firearms were two AK-47 guns, five SLRs, a Sten gun, one INSAS rifle, a .303 rifle and four single-shot guns.

Replying to a question, the DGP said Niranjan Raut was active in Rayagada-Gajapati-Kandhamal area for more than two decades.