A most-wanted Maoist couple surrendered before Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay K. Nand at the Lalbazar police headquarters on Friday, October 23, officials confirmed. The couple, identified as Mangal and Malati, handed over an AK-47 rifle and an INSAS rifle at the time of surrender.

Source: Nation Press

Authorities had announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for Mangal and Rs 2 lakh for Malati, according to reporting based on IANS inputs. The couple were wanted by security forces in both West Bengal and Jharkhand.

Source: IANS via Town Post

Mangal hails from Salboni in West Midnapore district, while Malati is a native of Gopiballabhpur in Jhargram district, both in West Bengal. Despite their origins, police said their Maoist operations were largely confined to Jharkhand, with only occasional activity inside West Bengal.

According to the Kolkata Police Commissioner, Mangal became involved in left-wing extremism in the Dalma area around 2010, relocated to Jharkhand after 2011-12 and later operated in Saranda. He was reportedly close to the late Maoist leader Koteshwar Rao, also known as Kishenji, who was killed in a police encounter in November 2011. Malati joined the movement after Mangal, with her role almost entirely confined to Jharkhand.

Authorities said Maoists had begun withdrawing from the Saranda forest area in Jharkhand earlier this year, citing pressure from security forces that made sustained operations increasingly difficult. About 13 Maoists from West Bengal were on the security forces' wanted list, most of whom have since been arrested or have surrendered, and another wanted leader, Pushpa, had surrendered in Kolkata a few months earlier, according to the IANS-based reporting.

Speaking to reporters after the surrender, Mangal said he had come to recognise the limits of armed struggle. 'Both of us have decided to abandon the path of violence and return to the mainstream of society. That is why we came here and surrendered,' he said, as reported by Nation Press.