62 Naxals surrender in Chhattisgarh ahead of polls

Raipur/New Delhi: Sixty-two ‘hardcore Naxals’ surrendered before security forces in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, police in the poll-bound state said, a development Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh described as a ‘huge achievement’. 

Of the 62 Naxals, 55 surrendered with their arms and ammunition in Narayanpur district, Inspector General of Police (Bastar) Vivekanand Sinha said. 

The Home minister said the success of the government's surrender policy was pushing Naxal cadres to shun the path of violence. "...I congratulate the state Chief Minister @drramansingh, the DGP and the police force for this huge achievement," he tweeted soon after the surrender.  

Polling for the 90-seat Chhattisgarh Assembly is scheduled to be held in two phases - on November 12 for 18 seats and on November 20 for 72 constituencies.  Most of the constituencies in the first phase fall in the state's Bastar region.