Telangana : Rehabilitation policy key to Maoist surrenders, says Anand
MULUGU: Telangana DGP C V Anand said the state government’s rehabilitation policy has played a key role in encouraging Maoists to surrender.
Senior Maoist leader Kakarla Samatha, alias Madhavi, who had remained underground for nearly four decades, along with Shakeela and Durga, surrendered before the Telangana Police in Mulugu on Monday.
Anand handed Samatha a ₹20 lakh rehabilitation assistance cheque. He also appealed to Communist Party of India (Maoist) general secretary Muppala Laxmana Rao, alias Ganapathi, his wife and other senior underground leaders to give up violence and join the democratic mainstream.
Samatha joined Maoist movement in 1985
According to police, Samatha joined the Maoist movement in 1985 in the Visakhapatnam region under the influence of left-wing extremism.
She worked with the Hyderabad Committee, Nallamala, Uttar Pradesh Area Committee, Gujarat Golden Corridor Committee, Maharashtra Area Committee and Karnataka-Maharashtra Special Zonal Committee.
Police said she also handled ideological and documentation responsibilities in the organisation. She was involved in drafting Central Committee documents, preparing policy-related material, translating party literature, writing on women’s issues and conducting cadre orientation programmes.
She also worked with the Central Committee staff associated with Maoist leader Ganapathi, police said.
23 surrendered Maoists receive nearly ₹2 crore
Anand said the government was providing financial assistance, medical services, livelihood support and self-employment opportunities to help surrendered Maoists rebuild their lives with dignity. Eligible people were also being given health protection cards, he said.
So far, 23 surrendered Maoists have received financial assistance totalling nearly ₹2 crore, Anand said. He added that rehabilitation was being provided irrespective of the rank held by the cadres in the organisation.
DGP urges Maoists to choose rehabilitation
Anand said coordinated efforts by the Telangana Police and the central government had significantly weakened Maoist activities in areas that were previously affected by the movement.
He said rehabilitation and joining the democratic mainstream, rather than violence, was the way forward.
Mulugu district was earlier a key Maoist corridor along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border, Anand said. This was why the programme was held in Mulugu instead of Hyderabad.
He said discussions with surrendered cadres had helped authorities understand issues related to rehabilitation, pending cases and their reintegration into society.
If necessary, the Telangana government would coordinate with the central government and the Chhattisgarh government to resolve such issues, he said.
Multi Zone-I Inspector General Chandrashekar Reddy, Intelligence Inspector General Karthikeya, Ramagundam Police Commissioner Amber Kishore Jha, Intelligence Superintendent of Police Sindhu Sharma, Mulugu Superintendent of Police Sudheer Ramnath Kekan, Additional Superintendent of Police Manan Bhatt, SIB officials and other police officers attended the programme.
