Maoists disenchanted with cadres surrender in Kandhamal

Bhubaneswar: The Centre on Monday said that the Maoists were disillusioned and disenchanted with their own cadres after three of them including a women Naxalite surrendering before the Odisha police recently.

Three Maoist cadres including a woman Kamala Mandal, along with Bishnu Parida and Binayak Parida surrendered before the Kandhamal Police on February 28.

While Mandal had joined the Vansadhara Division of CPI (Maoist) in 2003 (in its earlier avatar of CPML-People’s War), the other two had joined the organization in 2007.

Both the male cadres were involved in the attack on the Karada Forest Range in Kandhamal district on February 18 last year.

They said that though they had joined the organization ostensibly on account of the pro-poor image of the Maoists, they soon got disillusioned after witnessing a marked departure from the ideology exhibited by the cadres, who openly indulge in extortion and harassment of people, the home ministry said in a statement.

This first ever surrender in Kandhamal district shows the level of disenchantment with the Maoists being felt by its own cadres, the statement said.

The statement added: the citizens of the country will support the government to put an end to Naxal activities and condemn the unlawful activities of Maoists.

It is hoped that the overwhelming majority in this country will condemn the mindless unlawful activities, violence unleashed by the CPI (Maoist) and will support the careful, controlled and calibrated efforts being made by the Central and state governments to put an end to Naxal violence, it said.