A dreaded and most wanted Maoist carrying a bounty Rs 2 lakh on his head surrendered before the Maharashtra Police and CRPF after being pursued for 10 years, an official said here on Monday.

The Maoist has been identified as Mukesh Penta Kannake (37) alias Kishore, who joined militancy as a Jan-Militia member in 2014 at Bhamragad in Gadchiroli district.

In 2022, he was appointed as the head of the Revolutionary People’s Council and as a Bhamragad Dalam member, said Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police, Neelotpal.

In his decade-long involvement with outlawed outfits, Kannake was involved in at least four murder cases of civilians, including three men and a woman, in 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2019.

He was also part of three encounters with the security forces in 2017, 2021, and 2022 in Darba, Koparshi, and Pengunda villages of the district.

Kannake was also involved in incidents of arson in 2021, 2022, and 2023 at places like Murumbhushi, Botanfundi, Pengunda, and Hidoor, in which over a dozen government-owned and private vehicles were torched.

Neelotpal said Kannake decided to surrender as he wanted to quit his life as an outlaw, and take advantage of the government’s policy of rehabilitation, including a cash reward of Rs 4.5 lakh from the Centre and the state, along with other benefits.

Neelotpal, along with senior officers Sandeep Patil, Ankit Goyal, and CRPF’s top officers Jagdish Meena, M.M. Khobragade, Sandip Pakhale, Jyotsna Masram, Jitendra Vairagade and Pramod Puri were present during the surrender.

Neelotpal also said that between 2022 and 2024, 15 dreaded Maoists have voluntarily renounced violence, laid down arms before the security forces, and also appealed to other outlaws lurking in the jungles to follow suit.

(This article has been published via a syndicated feed)