Boudh: Two women Maoists Tuesday surrendered before the police in Odisha’s Boudh district after allegedly being sexually assaulted in camps of the red rebels, a senior officer said.
IGP (Southern Range) Jai Narayan Pankaj said the two surrendered Maoists hail from Bijapur district in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
They were associated with the Kandhamal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) outfit, Pankaj told reporters.
He said the surrendered Maoists had joined the banned outfit in 2018.
Stating that the KKBN division of CPI (Maoist) is active in Boudh and Kandhamal districts, Pankaj said the surrendered rebels were involved in various violent incidents.
He said the women would receive benefits available for surrendered Maoists in the state.
The surrendered women Maoists claimed they were recruited in the banned outfit to sing songs but were used in various activities, Pankaj said.
Both the women were frustrated by the “continuous unethical activities” in the CPI (Maoist) outfit, including sexual harassment of female cadres, extortion through intimidation and induction of boys and girls in the organisation with false promises, he said.
They also strongly resented the high-handedness of senior Maoists who allegedly behaved rudely with the juniors and new cadres, the officer said.
One of the surrendered Maoists said she had “problems with activities in the organisation that were against Maoist ideology”.
Appealing to the Maoists to shun violence and return to the mainstream, Pankaj said they would get a suitable rehabilitation package and get a chance to restart their life afresh.
PTI