16 Maoists surrenders before Jharkhand police in Ranchi

Sixteen Maoists, with six of them carrying a combined bounty of Rs 39 lakh, surrendered before the Jharkhand Police here on Tuesday, a senior officer said.

Santosh Mahto alias Basudev Da alias Dilip, who was wanted in 128 cases and carrying a Rs 15 lakh reward on his head, was among those who surrendered, he said.

“Of the 16 Maoists, six were carrying a total bounty of Rs 39 lakh on their heads. Five women members were also part of the group. A regional committee member and a zonal committee member are among them,” the officer said.

Two sub-zonal committee members and two area committee functionaries were



among those who surrendered, he said.

The surrender of Santosh Mahto, a regional committee member of the banned CPI (Maoist), was one of the big achievements for the Jharkhand Police, the officer said.

“Santosh was wanted in 128 cases registered at various police stations in several districts. He was accused of being involved in an IED blast in a forest under the border police stations of Manoharpur, Chotnagar and Jhariakela on March 1, injuring a jawan of the Cobra battalion,” the officer said.

Jharkhand DGP Tadasha Mishra termed the surrender of Maoists as another “big achievement for the state police”.