RAIPUR: It was 'no mean feat' for the Bastar Police in south Chhattisgarh on Tuesday when 121 Maoists cadres, who had surrendered in different strife-torn districts of the conflict zone, passed out along with others as constables at Jagdalpur police training school.
The former Maoists were among the 227 constables who participated in the passing-out parade.
In another achievement, as many as 117 of the former Maoists, who were illiterate before joining the 11-month rigorous training course, also developed their ability to read and write.
The “desired impact” emerging out of the rolled out strategy -- ‘Vishwas-Vikas-Suraksha’ -- was apparent during the passing-out parade, when surrendered Maoists in large strength acquired training become the part of the police force. They will soon join the operations in the inhospitable terrain against the outlawed CPI (Maoist).
“The Bastar Police in its endeavour to win the popular backing of the tribal villagers are securing the confidence of the Maoist cadres who are willing to join the mainstream. The trained constables will now be part of our mission for establishing peace in the region”, said Sunderraj P, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range), while congratulating the newly-recruited cops.
The 121 surrendered rebels are from the seven Maoist-affected districts of Sukma, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kanker, Kondagaon, Jagdalpur, and Bijapur.
Narrating the reason for surrendering, the newly recruited personnel, who took oath during the parade ceremony, revealed that they were "disillusioned with the anti-development and anti-tribal ideology of the Maoists".