Two Maoists wanted in several cases of extremist violence surrendered before the Bihar police and officials of the central paramilitary forces in Gaya district, while another top Maoist was arrested in Lakhisarai district on Friday.

The two Maoists who laid down arms in Gaya were identified as Pradeep Singh Bhokta alias Neeraj and Dinesh Bhuiyan alias Umesh alias Mitthu. They also surrendered a .303 rifle, a thurnet gun (a type of improvised submachine gun) and several rounds of ammunition, including 57 rounds of 7.67mm.

Gaya senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ashish Bharti said that the two Maoists "laid down their arms before the police, CRPF and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) officers due to the surrender-cum-rehabilitation policy of the state. Both of them are accused in dozens of cases of violence in Bihar and Jharkhand".

He said the duo had been absconding for several years and were involved in several exchanges of fire with the police and the paramilitary forces.

"They were also involved in the killing of CRPF jawan Raushan Kumar during one such encounter in 2019,” Bharti added.

Pradeep and Dinesh will get Rs 2.5 lakh each in the form of fixed deposits in banks.