Day after surrendering, six Naxals in Karnataka sent to judicial custody, charged under UAPA

Wednesday’s surrender came months after the anti-naxal force gunned down Vikram Gowda, another key figure in the naxalite movement, in an encounter in Udupi district.

Welcoming the six Naxals, Siddaramaiah handed them a copy of the Constitution and reiterated his government’s commitment to make the state Naxal-free.

“Today, the Constitution gives us the opportunity to achieve goals peacefully through just means. B R Ambedkar has made a scope for it in the Constitution. We will help them (surrendered Naxals) within the framework of law because there is a scheme for those who surrender. As per the scheme, based on their categories, they will be given compensation and the government will make every effort to bring them from the woods to jail and from jail to the state (mainstream),” the CM said.

The move has also sparked a war of words between the BJP and Congress with BJP General Secretary Sunil Kumar on Wednesday terming the state government’s decision to facilitate the surrender as a “package to convert forest Naxals into urban Naxals”. In response, state Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday defended the government’s move claiming everyone becomes aware when Naxals surrender before the CM forcing those who believe in the ideology to rethink their stance. “Who is saying it was not appropriate for the Naxals to surrender before the CM? They should explain what is wrong and why they think it is wrong. We wanted to send a message to society that Naxalism has no place,” he said.

Here is a look at who the six former Naxals are:

Latha Mundagaru

Hailing from Sringeri taluk of Chikmagalur district, she dropped out of school after class 6. The eviction of her family, along with several other tribal families of the region, due to the implementation of the Kudremukh National Park Project drew her towards Naxalism. At the age of 18, she joined the Naxals in 2000 and was a part of the movement that protested against the project.

She operated in the forests of Karnataka and Kerala and was the leader of the last team of ultras which was active in the region. She has 85 cases registered against her.

Vanajakshi

The senior-most member of the group that surrendered on Wednesday, Vanajakshi hails from Mudigere taluk of Chikmagalur district. She discontinued her education in 1985 after completing secondary school education.

Her drift towards Left Wing Extremism (LWE) came after she failed to protect a piece of family-owned land from “powerful” individuals despite being elected unopposed twice to the gram panchayat in 1992 and 1997. The incident led her mother into depression and allegedly drove one of her brothers to suicide.

She joined the Naxal movement in 2000 following the incident and looking at the plight of families, who were at the receiving end of various types of harassment, around her. A total of 29 cases are registered against her.

Sundari Kuthluru

She belongs to a tribal family who was also affected by the Kudremukh National Park Project and hails from Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district.

Sundari was 19 when she, along with a few others, took up arms in 2004 and has 71 cases registered against her.

Jayanna Aroli

Born into a Dalit family in Manvi village of Raichur taluk, he discontinued his education during graduation.

Drawn to the Maoist movement during his student days, Jayanna joined the Naxals at the age of 24 in 2000 following the encounter of another ultra, Bhaskar.

Jayanna has already declared that he will donate half the amount he receives as a relief package towards the development of the government school in his village. He has 50 cases registered against him.

Vasant Arcot

An engineer by qualification, he hails from vellore in Tamil Nadu. Influenced by the movement in his hometown of Arcot, Vasant joined the Naxals soon after completing his graduation. He has a total of eight cases registered against him.

Jisha

The youngest among the surrendered Naxals, she hails from Makkimala village near Wayanad of Kerala. Jisha discontinued her education after class 8 and joined the ultras in 2018. She has 17 cases registered against her.