Latehar, September 1(HS): In a significant breakthrough in Jharkhand’s ongoing battle against insurgency, nine armed militants affiliated with the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) surrendered to police on Monday at the Latehar district collectorate auditorium. The rebels handed over a substantial cache of weapons and live ammunition as part of the surrender process.

Among those who surrendered were four hardcore militants with bounties of INR 5 lakhs, including JJMP supremo Ravindra Yadav, sub-zonal commander Akhilesh Yadav, Baldev Ganjhu, Mukesh Ram, and three others with INR 3 lakh bounties—Pawan alias Ram Prasad Mahto, area commander Raju Ram, Vijay Yadav, Shravan Singh, and Mukesh Ganjhu.

The surrendered weaponry included four AK-47 rifles, three SLR rifles, two .303 bore rifles, one semi-automatic rifle, one AK-56 rifle, and a total of 1782 live cartridges.

CRPF Inspector General Saket Singh, Police IG Michael Raj, IG Sunil Bhaskar of the Palamu range, DIG Naushad Alam, DIG Manvendra of the Armed Border Force, and Latehar Superintendent of Police Kumar Gaurav welcomed the insurgents with garlands in a symbolic gesture of peace.

CRPF IG Saket Kumar Singh hailed the surrender as a massive victory for the police and security forces, urging any remaining militants to follow suit and surrender, emphasizing that it is their only viable option.

IG Michael Raj issued an ultimatum to insurgents, urging them to avail the government’s surrender policy as a last chance before facing fatal consequences at the hands of law enforcement. He termed this mass surrender as one of the biggest achievements in Jharkhand’s fight against Maoist insurgents.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar