Woman claiming to be Maoist rescued in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR:  A woman reportedly abandoned by Maoists due to her mental and physical health issues was rescued by Rayagada police on July 30. The woman, in her mid-twenties, was moving around in a village within Ambadola police limits and told some local girls that she was associated with the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit. A police team rushed to the spot and rescued her from the village, Rayagada SP Vivekanand Sharma told TNIE. 

She was looking frail and was taken to a doctor. During testing, it came to fore that her haemoglobin level was low. The woman was then taken to ‘Swadhar Grah’ in the district and questioned by women police officers. “She gave prevaricating statements to the police and did not seem mentally fit. Clothes and bangles were given to her during her stay at the shelter home,” Sharma said. 

The investigators faced difficulties in ascertaining her identity and had to circulate her photographs in police stations nearby. Finally, police managed to trace her parents to neighbouring Kalahandi district. She was handed over to them recently. 

The SP said as of now, it cannot be confirmed if she was part of the banned outfit. “However the possibility of the ultras deserting her due to her poor physical and mental health cannot be ruled out and further probe in this regard is on,” he said. The Bansadhara-Ghumusar-Nagabali (BGN) division of the Maoists is active in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts.

There are just 20 active Maoists from Odisha as of now and they are desperately trying to recruit local cadres, said sources. “The recruitment of local cadres has come down significantly in recent years due to our effective intelligence network and awareness programmes in the Left Wing Extremism-hit districts of the State. The locals too are opting for the State government’s development programmes to get jobs instead of joining the ultras who are not part of the mainstream,” said a senior police officer.