Sambalpur: Dreaded Maoist Kunu Dehury surrendered before the Sambalpur police today. The Odisha government had declared a cash reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.
Kunu, reportedly a native of Taparsingha village under Jujumara police limits in Sambalpur, was a part of the military wing of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) organisation and involved in Maoist activities in Sambalpur, Deogarh and adjoining areas.
Addressing a presser in Bhubaneswar, DG Police RP Sharma said, “Kunu Dehury was very active being the divisional committee secretary. He has been spearheading all the Naxal activities in three four districts and adjoining areas like Rourkela and Angul.”
The DGP further said, “Kunu joined the Naxal cadre in 2002, when the organisation was being called Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) and later on in 2004 he continued his activities with the CPI (Maoists) organisation. He has been a dreaded Maoist in that area and involved in as many as 51 criminal cases mostly in Sambalpur, Deogarh and Rourkela police districts. We had been tracking his movement for quite some time in the particular division and there was a cash reward of Rs 8 lakhs on his head.”
Sharma revealed that Kunu surrendered primarily due to loss of faith in the ideology of the Maoists and also in view of the continued counter Naxal operations by the security forces in this division.
The Odisha DGP stated, “We need to examine him in detail about his various activities and all other issues connected to him. With this significant success of Odisha police, I must congratulate SOGs and DVFs of these divisions. Because of their continued efforts, Kunu had to surrender. I hope that with his surrender, the Maoists activities in these divisions will get substantially weakened.”
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Informing about the steps the government would take for his rehabilitation, Sharma informed, “We will treat him as per the Surrender Policy of Government of Odisha and the screening committee and rehabilitation committee at the district level would decide in accordance with the provision of surrender policy to give whatever benefits he is entitled to after surrender.”
The benefits, with the cadre of his level, include a cash of Rs 2.5 lakh, provision of homestead land and also house building construction amount, Sharma added.