18 naxalites give up arms

VISAKHAPATNAM: Eighteen militia members of the banned CPI Maoists surrendered before the Visakhapatnam Rural SP Vikram Jeet Duggal here on Saturday. All the surrendered members belong to Kottabanda village of Rintada panchayat in GK Veedhi mandal.
They were identified as B Dhrama Raju, Vantala Chinnayya Padal, V Bheemaraju, Korra Rambabu, V Suribabu, Gemmeli Kameswara Rao, K Balayya Padal, K Prasad, G Ramaraju, K Lakshmana Rao, K Naveen, G Mohana Rao, K Nagaraju, K Appa Rao, G Simhadri, G Rama Rao, V Ramana Babu and V Raju.All those who surrendered belong to the Nookadora community, one of the tribal sects in the Visakha agency.
The militia members were involved in the blasts at the coffee pulper unit and the Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation (APFDC) godown and had also set ablaze a tractor at Chapagedda in GK Veedhi mandal a month ago. They even blocked the road by axing trees on either side of Chapagedda road prior to the blast at the coffee plantation.
According to SP Duggal, all the surrendered members were forcibly involved in the incident by the Maoists. "A majority of them had been working at the same pulper unit for the past many years and realized the folly of their actions after they lost employment. They decided to come out of the clutches of Maoists and surrender before the police," he said.
The Rural SP appealed to the Maoists not to involve innocent tribals in their activities or use them as human shields. He appealed to the Maoists to surrender and live a mainstream life.