Sukma, Oct 20 (PTI) A total of 43 Naxals, including nine women cadres, surrendered before the police in Chhattisgarh's worst Maoist-hit Sukma district on Wednesday, an officer said.

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The 43 cadres belonging to ten villages of the Sukma district turned themselves in before senior police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials in Sukma town citing disappointment with “inhuman” and “hollow” Maoist ideology, Sukma Superintendent of Police Sunil Sharma told PTI.

Podiami Lakshman, a militia commander carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, was among those who surrendered before the police.

The remaining ultras were active as members of the militia and Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangthan (DAKMS), Krantikari Mahila Adivasi Sangthan (KAMS), Chetna Natya Mandli (CNM)- all the frontal wings of Maoists, in different areas of the south Bastar, he said.

The SP said the surrendered ultras were also "impressed" by the district police's rehabilitation drive for Naxals called 'Puna Narkom' (a term coined in local Gondi dialect which means New Dawn).

The surrendered Naxals will be provided with facilities as per the Surrender and Rehabilitation Policy of the Chhattisgarh government.

With the latest surrender, a total of 176 Naxals have so far quit the violence in the district under the 'Puna Narkom' campaign launched in August this year, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)