Bengaluru, 8 Jan

Six hardcore Naxalites on Wednesday surrendered before Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

According to the information received, the Naxalites were from Karnataka and neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

While Sundari Kutluru, Latha Mundagaru, Marappa Aroli and Vanajakshi Balehole are from Karnataka, Jisha is from Wayanad in Kerala, and K Vasanth from Arcot in Tamil Nadu.

These Naxalites had met some progressive groups in the last few months and finally decided to surrender, sources said.

They were involved in many crimes and were carrying rewards on their heads, the sources added.

They were supposed to surrender in Chikkamagaluru but later the venue was shifted to Krishna, the office-residence of the Chief Minister here.

Their surrender comes a week after Siddaramaiah appealed to the members of outlawed outfit to shun violence and join the democratic mainstream.

He said the government has formulated a surrender policy, which will be simplified and implemented effectively.

On 20 November, a top member of the outlawed unit, Vikram Gowda, was killed in an encounter with the anti-Naxal Force in Udupi district, pointing to the active Naxal activities in the state.