RAIPUR: Dantewada — one of the worst Maoist-affected districts in south Chhattisgarh, has embarked upon a unique plan to make the identity of the rebels public.
The names of cadres associated with the outlawed CPI (Maoist), their address in the district, crimes they had committed, the cases (if any) registered against them and the rewards they carry will all be made public. The given details of the Naxals - hardcore or lower rung Maoist comrades, will be pasted in the police stations, panchayat bhawans and the public places and copies will be provided to each sarpanch of the gram sabha for their information.
The initiative is intended to let the masses know about the Maoists or their supporters living in their region. If any villager finds his or her name wrongfully listed, they can approach to the police directly along with the sarpanch of the respective village and get it deleted citing genuine evidence. So far the lists have been prepared from 120 villages where the outline of Maoists and their supporters have been divulged.
There have been various instances when even after the warrant been issued by the courts, the locals alleged that the person is not a Maoist but a tribal villager and he was never with the banned organisation and the police have intentionally categorised him as the rebel on record.
Now with the names disseminated publicly, such persons can have the option to surrender before the police and their warrant might get cancelled. Also, the police face the serious charge that the forces allegedly killed an innocent villager, when actually he or she happened to be a Maoist in record. So declaring the names of the rebels will also eliminate the root cause of alleged human rights violations against the police.
“There could be nothing worse than to face the unfounded charges that innocents were killed by the forces. We have prepared four types profile of the Maoists. First, those against whom there is a warrant issued by the courts. Second who are carrying rewards. next are the supporters or jan-militia living in the tribal hamlets. And lastly the Maoists who originally belong to Dantewada but the banned organisation has deployed them at other affected districts”, the Dantewada district superintendent of police Abhishek Pallava told the Express.
The tribals have a usually tendency to return to their roots to meet the family, their community, their agriculture land. “We will take measure to convince the family and the local tribal community to pressurise Maoists to quit the left-wing extremism. They are actually fighting for their roots — Jan, Jungle and Zameen, so hope it works”, said the SP.
The move, the police believe, will get rid of serious allegations on committing excesses, violation of rights or even fake encounters, that they face in the conflict zone of south Chhattisgarh.