Maoist couple Surrendered

BHUBANESWAR: A Maoist couple, allegedly involved in a dozen crimes, surrendered before the police at south Orissa town of Rayagada on
Wednesday.

Surendra Brekkeda (20) and his wife Jaya Ruppi (19) laid down arms and handed themselves to the police with a hope to start a normal life, Rayagada district superintendent of police Ashis Kumar Singh said.

The couple, the core committee members of the Vamsadhara division of the banned CPI (Maoist), are allegedly involved in serious crimes like murders and extortion, according to police.

They joined the outlawed outfit in 2003 and got married in 2005.

“We are fed up with Maoist violence. We want to begin a normal life by joining the mainstream,” police quoted the couple as saying.

The couple’s surrender came on the day when the Maoists called state-wide bandh in protest against the Centre’s decision to ban their organisation.

The Vamsadhara division, which is led by top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda – carried out major Maoist operations in Orissa, including the alleged murder of the Hindu preacher Swami Laxmanand Saraswati and four of his aides in Kandhamal district on August 23, last year.

The killings triggered large-scale communal violence in the district resulting in the death of at least 41 people and destruction of scores of churches in the district.