The Centre had lauded the increase in the number of surrenders by Maoists in Chattisgarh and termed it a major achievement but recent intelligence reports have revealed that several of them were not genuine.

Sources said the Intelligence Bureau (IB) is unhappy with the manner in which the surrenders are taking place and has discussed the same with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the force entrusted with the mandate of combating Maoist insurgency. The matter has also been taken up with the state authorities.

Sources said the IB has found that several incidents of surrenders were fake. “In many cases, it has been noticed that those who surrendered were either not Maoists or were sympathisers a long time ago,” said an official.

Officials said the Maoists have also started questioning the authenticity of these surrenders. It is believed that getting them (Maoists) to surrender hurts them more than any anti-Maoist operation and arrest, as it demoralises the top leadership and the cadres. “We need to be careful about this. If these are not real surrenders, it can backfire,” the official added.

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