Naxalite Couple Surrenders to Maharashtra Deputy CM Fadnavis in Gadchiroli

Fadnavis described Giridhar`s surrender as a "great success"/ Screengrab

On Saturday in Gadchiroli district, Naxal leader Giridhar surrendered with his wife in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. He was involved in substantial Naxalite activities and had a financial bounty of Rs 25 lakh on his head.

Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis described the surrender as a "great success" because Giridhar was regarded as the "backbone of Maoism", reported ANI.

"The police and administration have achieved great success against Maoism as Girdhar, considered as the backbone of Maoism and his wife, both have surrendered today. Girdhar had a reward of 25 lakh and his wife had a reward of 16 lakhs. They were seen as the head of Maoist activities in Gadchiroli. Today, our C-60 force in Gadchiroli has created such a situation that either the Maoists have to surrender or face the consequences. In the last 4 years, not a single person from Gadchiroli has joined Maoist activities," Fadnavis stated per ANI report.

Fadnavis also gave the Naxalite couple a shawl, a bouquet of flowers, and a copy of the Indian Constitution. In addition, they received a payment of Rs 25 lakh from the government's rehabilitation scheme.

The Deputy CM, sharing a video of the event, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) said, "Giridhar and Lalita, deeply involved in Naxalism until now, today surrendered themselves and were integrated into the mainstream. I presented a copy of our Indian Constitution to them to strengthen their belief in our Constitution!"

An official, earlier in May, said that a Naxalite with a Rs 6 lakh bounty surrendered to police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district. The Naxalite, Ganesh Gatta Punem (35), lives in the adjoining Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, according to PTI.

According to the PTI report, Punem surrendered to Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) Jagdish Meena. According to the police statement, Punem was engaged as a member of the supply team at Bhamramgadh LOS in 2017 and was promoted to deputy commander in 2018.

According to the report, he was involved in incidents in Mirtur and Timmenar, Bijapur, in 2017 and 2022.

The PTI report reported a police statement that said Punem surrendered for a variety of reasons, including a lack of medical facilities and senior cadres misusing development cash.

According to reports, the surrendered Naxalite will receive Rs 5 lakh under Maharashtra and the Union government's rehabilitation scheme.