Another devout Maoist, who had a Rs 3 lakh cash reward on his head, turned himself in to the Bolangir Police on Saturday, one day after two Area Committee Members (ACM) of the banned organisation gave themselves up in the Malkangiri district.
Somnath Achela, also known as Mahesh, is reportedly a resident of Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district. He became an active member of the CPI (Maoist) in 2006 and has been involved ever since. He began taking part in different Maoist endeavours in the Bolangir region in 2021. He was serving in the Bolangir, Bargarh, and Mahasamund (BBM) Division as an area commander.
He turned himself in today at the Bolangir SP’s office in front of SP Rishikesh Khilari and IG Himanshu Lal (Northern Range).
The police claimed that fear, rigorous police questioning, and Maoist torture were the reasons behind his surrender. They said that he was drawn to the government’s various developmental initiatives.
“He wanted to return to the mainstream of society and take part in the government’s developmental initiatives after realising that what he was doing would not benefit him in any way. Thus, he turned himself in to the Bolangir Police. According to the government’s surrender policy, he will get all benefits, according to IG (Northern Range), Himanshu Lal.
