Raipur
Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma aims to increase Naxalite surrenders through focused efforts on police encounters, road construction, and rehabilitation. Public input is invited for a new surrender and rehabilitation policy, with a commitment to study neighboring states’ strategies for enhanced solutions.
Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma is eagerly looking forward to the moment the highest number of Naxalites decide to surrender. He shared his thoughts during a media interaction. Sharma mentioned that since the new government took office, police encounters have resulted in the deaths of 122 Naxalites. Additionally, 415 Naxalites have surrendered, and 423 have been arrested.
“I am waiting for the auspicious day when the number of surrenders surpasses the number of arrests. The solution to the Naxal problem should come through surrender and rehabilitation.”
Just one day earlier, on May 29, a police encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district led to the deaths of two Naxalites, including a woman. Their bodies and weapons were recovered from the scene. The female Maoist, Manila, was part of the DVCM cadre and had a bounty of 8 lakhs on her head. The other Naxalite, Manglu Kudiyam, involved in the 2007 Dantewada jailbreak incident, had a bounty of 1 lakh.
The Home Minister noted that a female Naxalite, an Area Committee Member with a bounty of 5 lakhs, was captured alive. She was in uniform when apprehended and is currently in custody.
“We are working on multiple fronts simultaneously to eradicate the Naxal problem.”
For the first time since independence, roads are being built in Naxal-affected regions. Out of 257 planned roads under the Prime Minister’s Rural Road Scheme, which the previous government did not build, 11 have been completed in the last four months. Additionally, 85 more roads have been identified, with construction work started on 40 of them. A special team of officers from both the Home and Panchayat departments has been formed to oversee these projects.
Home Minister Sharma highlighted the involvement of ADG Naxal Operations Vivekanand, IG Naxal Operations, and ACS of Panchayat Department Niharika Barik in a joint team ensuring the smooth execution of these projects. There have been three meetings thus far, two in Raipur and one in Dantewada. Construction has commenced on six roads in Abujhmad, an area that hasn’t seen roads since independence.
The government is actively working on the rehabilitation of Naxalites. Efforts are being made to ensure surrendered Naxalites have better futures and to prevent new individuals from being drawn into Naxalism. The government is also considering the welfare of families affected by Naxalite violence and devising schemes for their benefit.
Sharma mentioned that those who have strayed from the mainstream and taken up arms should return. A Google form has been prepared to gather suggestions for a new surrender and rehabilitation policy. This form includes two QR codes, one for an email ID and the other for the Google form. Suggestions can be submitted by scanning these codes, and the government will consider them to refine their approach.
When asked by journalists about Naxalites surrendering in neighboring states, Sharma acknowledged that it could be due to better policies there. He assured that he would personally study the neighboring state’s rehabilitation policies to implement better solutions for Naxal eradication in Chhattisgarh.
Raipur
Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma aims to increase Naxalite surrenders through focused efforts on police encounters, road construction, and rehabilitation. Public input is invited for a new surrender and rehabilitation policy, with a commitment to study neighboring states’ strategies for enhanced solutions.
Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma is eagerly looking forward to the moment the highest number of Naxalites decide to surrender. He shared his thoughts during a media interaction. Sharma mentioned that since the new government took office, police encounters have resulted in the deaths of 122 Naxalites. Additionally, 415 Naxalites have surrendered, and 423 have been arrested.
“I am waiting for the auspicious day when the number of surrenders surpasses the number of arrests. The solution to the Naxal problem should come through surrender and rehabilitation.”
Just one day earlier, on May 29, a police encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district led to the deaths of two Naxalites, including a woman. Their bodies and weapons were recovered from the scene. The female Maoist, Manila, was part of the DVCM cadre and had a bounty of 8 lakhs on her head. The other Naxalite, Manglu Kudiyam, involved in the 2007 Dantewada jailbreak incident, had a bounty of 1 lakh.
The Home Minister noted that a female Naxalite, an Area Committee Member with a bounty of 5 lakhs, was captured alive. She was in uniform when apprehended and is currently in custody.
“We are working on multiple fronts simultaneously to eradicate the Naxal problem.”
For the first time since independence, roads are being built in Naxal-affected regions. Out of 257 planned roads under the Prime Minister’s Rural Road Scheme, which the previous government did not build, 11 have been completed in the last four months. Additionally, 85 more roads have been identified, with construction work started on 40 of them. A special team of officers from both the Home and Panchayat departments has been formed to oversee these projects.
Home Minister Sharma highlighted the involvement of ADG Naxal Operations Vivekanand, IG Naxal Operations, and ACS of Panchayat Department Niharika Barik in a joint team ensuring the smooth execution of these projects. There have been three meetings thus far, two in Raipur and one in Dantewada. Construction has commenced on six roads in Abujhmad, an area that hasn’t seen roads since independence.
The government is actively working on the rehabilitation of Naxalites. Efforts are being made to ensure surrendered Naxalites have better futures and to prevent new individuals from being drawn into Naxalism. The government is also considering the welfare of families affected by Naxalite violence and devising schemes for their benefit.
Sharma mentioned that those who have strayed from the mainstream and taken up arms should return. A Google form has been prepared to gather suggestions for a new surrender and rehabilitation policy. This form includes two QR codes, one for an email ID and the other for the Google form. Suggestions can be submitted by scanning these codes, and the government will consider them to refine their approach.
When asked by journalists about Naxalites surrendering in neighboring states, Sharma acknowledged that it could be due to better policies there. He assured that he would personally study the neighboring state’s rehabilitation policies to implement better solutions for Naxal eradication in Chhattisgarh.
