AP DGP Harish Kumar Gupta has called on Maoists to come out of hiding and surrender so that they return to public life in the next seven months. He suggested that they should use the rehabilitation package being provided by the state government and change their life path. The DGP responded at a time when the central government has made it clear that it will act more strictly against Maoists after March next year.
He said that they are conducting joint operations after receiving information from time to time on the movements of Maoists. He said that about 21 people from the state are working as Maoist members in various states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The police have further expanded their combing operation to completely control the activities of Maoists in the state.
Last week, operation teams seized a large-scale Maoist dump in Alluri Sitarama Raju district. These were put up for inspection by security teams at the Vijayawada Police Commissionerate office by DGP Gupta. They found high-tech weapons and other equipment, along with kilograms of explosive wires. He said that there had been five recent encounters between Maoists and security forces in the agency area, in which six Maoists were killed.
They included central committee member Uday, state committee members Aruna, Jagan, and divisional committee secretary Ramesh. He said that eight weapons had been seized from them. He said that a total of seven people, including divisional committee secretary, area committee members, and action team members, had been arrested.
The DGP said that a total of 40 people, including two divisional committee secretaries and 15 area committee members, had surrendered. He said that the Naxalites in hiding had been promised the reward announced by the government, along with housing and employment opportunities.
Meanwhile, several Maoists surrendered before the DGP Harish Kumar Gupta on Saturday. Ramakrishna and Aruna were among them. He said that a huge dump was seized within the AOB area. AK 47, hand grenades and other weapons were among the weapons seized.
The DGP handed over cheques worth about Rs 22 lakh to 13 people who surrendered to police officers recently.
DGP Gupta said that a total of Rs 64 lakh was given to 48 people who surrendered in various capacities during the last year.
