Covid-scared Reds remove coughing cadre from ranks

RAIPUR: Fearing that a woman Maoist suffering from cold and fever might be infected with Covid-19, dreaded rebel commander Hidma removed her from the outfit and sent her on forced leave to her village in Bijapur district, from where she was arrested on Wednesday. The woman cadre, identified as 32-year-old Sumitra Chapa, was in the Maoist military wing.
Active for at least 10 years, she was in ‘platoon 3 of company number 1’ in the banned outfit. She is now at a quarantine centre in Bijapur. The Maoists panicked when she developed severe cough and fever, say police. “As Sumitra has a history of tuberculosis, the senior commanders felt it was not safe for others if she continued to have these symptoms. So, they suspended her,” Bastar Range IG P Sundarraj, told TOI. According to Sundarraj, Sumitra has said that many rebels are suffering from cold, cough, nausea and fever and the Maoists are worried that the virus may be raging in the ranks