Ranchi: Love seems to have weaned a 24-year-old Maoist sub-zonal commander off rebel activities. Nagendra Yadav alias Naro Yadav, who got married six months ago, gave up arms before the police in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Monday.

Unable to bear the pain of separation from his wife, Sabita Devi (20), he had asked her to start negotiations for his surrender with the police. Their wedding had been solemnized in secret in a temple at Simaria in Chatra in June.

Yadav was part of the CPI (Maoist) Madhya zone, which is spread across Gaya, Aurangabad, Hazaribag, Palamu and Chatra. He was wanted in 14 cases in Chatra and 12 in Bihar’s Gaya district. Since 2007, he had managed to give the slip to the security forces several times.

“Sabita’s first husband had died in a road accident a few months after the marriage,” Chatra superintendent of police S K Jha told TOI. “Yadav’s sister, who is Sabita’s neighbour in Simaria, had told him about the 20-year-old woman. Moved by her plight, he agreed to tie the knot with her.”

A source in the police department said Yadav, a resident of Pratapur in Chatra, used to meet Sabita at her home in Simaria. But fear of the police would force him to leave her Sabita in the middle of the night or before dawn, The Times of India reported.

Chatra ASP (operations) Ashwini Kumar quoted Yadav as saying that his wife had told him she could not afford to lose him. “He knew that Sabita would be completely vulnerable if he were to be killed by the police,” Kumar said. “He asked her to work as an interlocutor with the police to make him give up arms.”

Jha said Sabita was present when Yadav gave up arms. The Chatra SP said Yadav’s father, Prayag, also a Maoist, was killed in a police encounter in 2004.

“The death of his father made him join the rebels to seek revenge,” said Kumar, who had two encounters with Yadav in Gaya. “He was the man behind many blasts and fatal encounters with the police. His heroism and daredevilry helped him rise through the ranks.”

Bokaro inspector general Tadasha Mishra paid Rs 50,000 to Sabita when Yadav surrendered. “He’ll get the reward money apart from cash as part of the Maoist surrender policy,” the officer said. “He’s currently behind bars, but we’ll extend him legal assistance to come out of jail and help him lead a happy life with his family.”