K’taka police track cache of weapons belonging to surrendered Maoists in Meguru forest

Bengaluru, Jan 11 Karnataka police have tracked the cache of weapons belonging to surrendered Maoists in Meguru forest in Chikkamagaluru district of the state, sources confirmed on Saturday.

The police have seized guns including AK-56, rifles, revolver, pistols and live bullets following continuous search for two days, sources said.

The police team had launched a search operation at Meguru forest region where Naxals had held a last meeting before their surrender. The team led by Koppa police station inspector Manjunath had tracked the weapons.

Sources state that one AK-56 weapon, three 303 rifles, one bore SBBL (single barrel breech loading shotgun), one country made pistol, eleven 7.62 mm AK ammunitions, 176 live bullets including 133 live bullets of 303 rifles were found.

A case has been registered with Jayapura police station under Sections 251 (1) (B), 7 and 25 (1A) of the Arms Act.

The six Naxals who had surrendered before the CM Siddaramaiah at his home office had not surrendered their weapons. They had symbolically handed over their green uniform to CM Siddaramaiah to announce their surrender.

The BJP had raised questions in this regard and pulled up the Congress government for not bothering about seizing the weapons of the surrendered Naxals.

BJP MLC C.T. Ravi reacting to the development stated that those who surrender should be providing all details pertaining to their weapons.

The surrender and rehabilitation package should be given only after the surrendered Naxals provide information on their weapons and most importantly they should also be forthcoming with the information on who provided them weapons.

The package should be given only if they extend full cooperation to the investigation.

The Maoists have killed policemen, soldiers and common people. They have to give out information on their support base, Ravi stated.

“I feel the surrender of Naxals is a strategy. It should be confirmed whether they have completely shunned their ideology and violence. The investigation should not be isolated to the surrendered six Maoists,” he urged.

Home Minister G. Parameshwara had maintained, “The surrendered Maoists are believed to have discarded their weapons in the forest, and the police are working to locate them.”

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."

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.

The government offers package to Maoists for the surrendered weapons. It has fixed Rs 30,000 for AK-47 rifle; Rs 50,000 for UPM, GPM, RPJ, Sniper rifles; Rs 40,000 for sniper missile; Rs 2,000 for one grenade; Rs 10,000 for revolver/pistol; Rs 3,000 for rocket launcher; Rs 4,000 for 1 kilo of explosives, Rs 20,000 for a satellite phone, Rs 100 per every live bullet, sources stated.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had categorically stated on Friday that eradicating the Maoist movement is the objective of the Congress-led state government, adding that all protests must be peaceful and should not adopt violent means which is also his government's stance.

CM Siddaramaiah also assured that measures are being taken to confiscate the surrendered Maoists' firearms.