Maoist Commander carrying reward of Rs 15L surrenders in Ranchi

Ranchi (IANS) Maoist Commander Mithilesh Singh aka Duryodhan Mahato, an accused in 104 Maoist attacks, surrendered before the Jharkhand Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) here on Friday. He was carrying a reward of Rs 15 lakh.

Singh had been absconding for the past 30 years and is an accused in crimes pertaining to murder, arson and looting weapons from police stations and CRPF camps, among others.

Top officers of the state police and CRPF, including IG (Operations) A.V. Homkar and Ranchi IG Pankaj Kamboj, were present at the IG office in the state capital when Singh surrendered.

The police said that Singh was responsible for commanding Maoist activities in the areas of Jhumra Pahar, Bishnugarh, Ramgarh, Bokaro etc. under North Chotanagpur division of Jharkhand.

In 2001, Singh was appointed as a member of the Jharkhand Regional Committee in the Maoist organisation.

As per the police, Singh's name surfaced after the attack on the CRPF camp on Jhumra mountain and the attack on the CISF barrack in Khasmahal.

In 2003, Singh attacked the police station located at Chandrapura railway station and looted about two-dozen weapons.

Out of the 104 cases registered against Singh, 58 are lodged in Bokaro, 26 in Hazaribagh, five in Chatra, four in Seraikela Kharsawan, three in Khunti, two in Chaibasa, one in Dhanbad and five in Giridih district.