Bengaluru, Jan 10 (IANS): Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara stated on Friday that based on the current information about the Maoist activities in the state, the six individuals, who surrendered recently, are believed to be the last surviving in the state.
Speaking to reporters, he responded to questions on one of the Maoists, Ravindra, remaining elusive even though the government claimed that Karnataka is now a "Maoist-free state".
Further, addressing the disappearance of Ravindra, the state Home Minister said there is information that the group of surrendered Maoists had expelled him. However, the reason for his expulsion is unknown, and an investigation is underway.
"If anyone else emerges, they will be monitored," he added. Regarding the demand for compensation for the family of Vikram Gowda, a Maoist killed in an encounter, he said the request would be reviewed.
The surrendered Maoists are believed to have discarded their weapons in the forest, and the police are working to locate them, Parameshwara.
About the allegations by the BJP, which claimed that the government is not showing the same commitment to finding the weapons as it did to providing rehabilitation for the Maoists, he said, "We are doing our job."
"?The police will take the necessary help to find where the weapons have been hidden in the forest. There is a process for this, and the police will work accordingly. Doesn’t the BJP know this? They too have governed the state. Wasn't it the same police department then?" the Minister said.
He also clarified that the cases of surrendered Maoists and that of encountered Maoist Vikram Gowda were separate issues.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday welcomed the surrendered Maoists into the mainstream by offering them roses and copies of the Indian Constitution at his home office, ‘Krishna’, in Bengaluru.
With the surrender of the six Maoists, the Congress-led government has declared Karnataka a Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)-free state.
Special NIA Court here on Thursday remanded the six surrendered Maoists to judicial custody till January 30.
Mundagaru Latha from Mundagaru in Sringeri; Vanajakshi from Balehole in Kalasa; Sundari from Kutluru near Mangaluru; Marappa Jayanna Aroli from Raichur; Vasantha T. aka Ramesh from Tamil Nadu; and T.N. Jeesha from Kerala surrendered in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The Karnataka BJP has questioned the Congress government in the state for offering royal treatment to Maoists and facilitating their surrender.
The Office of the Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Chikkamagaluru has ordered the release of a Rs 3 lakh subsidy for each of the surrendered Maoists under the Surrender-cum-Rehabilitation scheme for Left-Wing Extremists.
Among the identified eight Maoists in Karnataka, Vikram Gowda was killed in an encounter, six have surrendered, and one, Ravindra is still at large.
Ravindra, hailing from Sringeri in Chikkamagaluru district, faces 14 cases and has not come in touch with the groups working towards bringing Maoists to the mainstream.
Police sources said that Ravindra has remained untraceable for 18 years.