After holding out for three weeks, another of Karnataka’s last Naxals surrenders

“The Operation Naxal surrender is complete,” the police statement said.

Hailing from the Chikamagalur region, Kotehunda Ravi has over 15 cases against him and had been associated with the Naxals for over 17 years.

Sources said Kotehunda Ravi had resisted surrender owing to personal issues with the group that formally gave up arms three weeks ago. Six Naxals — Mundagaru Latha, 45; Sundari Kuthlur, 40; Vanajakshi B, 55; Marappa Aroli alias Jayanna, 49; Jisha, 34; and Ramesh alias Vasanth, 38 —surrendered before Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on January 8.

While Jisha is from Kerala and Vasanth from Tamil Nadu, the others are from Karnataka. Latha, Sundari, Vanajakshi, and Ravi come from tribal and backward communities in the Western Ghats, while Jayanna is a Dalit from Raichur.

Following their surrender, the police recovered one AK-56 rifle, three .303 rifles, one 12 bore single-barrel breech-loading (SBBL) gun, one country-made pistol, and 176 rounds of ammunition — 11 rounds for the AK-56, 133 for the .303s, 24 for the SBBL, and eight for the pistol.

“All but one of the Karnataka Naxals have surrendered. Only Kotehunda Ravi has not surrendered yet, but he does not have any weapons and is also expected to surrender soon. This is the last of the armed Naxals in Karnataka,” a senior police official said after the January 8 surrender.

Among the Naxals who surrendered three weeks ago, Mundgaru Latha has 63 cases against her, Sundari has 71, Vanajakshi has 20, Marappa alias Jayanna has 50, Vasanth has eight, and Jisha has 17.

According to officials, the Naxal from Karnataka were part of a 19-member armed group that moved to Kerala in 2016 following the surrender of a batch of Communist Party of India (Maoist) ideologues and cadres between 2015 and 2016. This group joined forces with a larger contingent from Kerala and Tamil Nadu on the border, but their numbers dwindled to eight owing to surrenders and encounter killings by the Thunderbolts, Kerala’s anti-Naxal force, from 2016 to 2024.

The killing of hardline Naxal leader Vikram Gowda, 44, in Karnataka on November 19, 2024, marked a key turning point in convincing others to surrender. He was killed at a house in the Hebri region of Udupi while collecting rations he had paid a local villager for, police sources said.

Karnataka has announced a chief minister’s medal for the police team that facilitated the surrender through operational tactics and reconciliation efforts, according to Siddaramaiah’s office.