Raipur (Chattisgarh): The police have announced Rs 5 lakh cash reward and jobs to persons who provide information leading to the arrest or killing of Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham district, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Pamphlets with the announcement "suchna do inaam pao" (give information, receive a reward) were distributed in the Naxalite-affected villages of the district, which shares a border with Madhya Pradesh.
"Anyone who helps in the arrest of Naxalites or provides inputs leading to their killing in encounters will be given a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh and a job in the police force. Cash rewards will also be given to persons who help in the surrender of Maoists," the pamphlets stated.
Talking to PTI, Kabirdham Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishekh Pallava said, "We have distributed pamphlets and stuck posters of our new offer in Maoist-hit villages in the last two days. We have also sent messages on WhatsApp to mobile phone users in these villages." Villagers will receive an instant cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for providing information that leads to the arrest or killing of Maoists, and this amount is in addition to the bounty declared by the state or Central governments on any Naxalite, he said.
"Informers will also be recruited in the district police as constables without any test. However, the concerned person will have to fulfil the educational and physical standards," he said.
Pallava said as the counter-insurgency operations have intensified in the Bastar region, Naxalites from there may try to shift to their new base along the Chhattisgarh-Madhya Pradesh border, where they don't have mass support.
This offer will help the police gather intelligence, he said.
"There is already a provision for providing government jobs to persons providing information leading to the arrest or killing of Naxalites in the surrender and rehabilitation policy, but for the first time, it is announced openly so that villagers become aware and benefit from it," he added.
According to police, Naxalites have been making efforts to set up their new base in the tri-junction forest of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (MMC- zone) - comprising parts of Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh), Gondia (Maharashtra), Rajnandgaon, Mungeli and Kabirdham districts (Chhattisgarh) from 2017-18.
"Vistaar Platoons" of Maoists are looking to expand their activities in the MMC zone, and these platoons from the Kanha-Bhoramdeo division of Maoists (which covers parts of Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham and Mandla, Balaghat and Dindori districts of Madhya Pradesh) are active in Kabirdham, they said.
In the last five years, three Naxalites were killed in encounters with the police, and six have surrendered in Kabirdham, Pallava said.
