A woman Maoist, carrying a cash award of Rs 4 lakh on her head, surrendered before the Odisha police on Sunday.
A native of Chhattisgarh, Phulabati Ushendi surrendered before the director general of police (DGP) Abhya who was on a visit to Koraput district. “Maoists should join the mainstream of society. They will be rehabilitated as per the government norms,” said Abhya.
Ushendi joined the Maoist organisation in 2008 and worked as area committee member. She was involved in a number of violent incidents during the 2019 election. She had also been assigned the task of treating injured maoists and taking care of their health in general.
“DGP being accorded a traditional welcome by the villagers of #SwabhimanAnchal. This is stamp of approval for the developmental works by Govt of #Odisha,” Odisha police tweeted.
The cut-off area, popularly known as Swabhiman Anchal, is considered as the den of the Maoists because of its border with Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with dense forests along the border. Earlier, people used to go to the area using boats. Now under the supervision of police, a 910-metre-long Gurupriya bridge has been constructed and the area is now accessible by road.
In another development following sustained efforts of Odisha police, CRPF and BSF national flag was hoisted at Ghanabeda on December 9 in one of the inaccessible areas of the Swabhiman area (the cut-off) of Malkangiri, adjacent to the Koraput district. The national flag was hoisted in the area, once a Maoist bastion, after 40 years.
“We are sure the people in the Maoist-affected areas will participate in the coming panchayat elections in a big way. General people want to join the mainstream of the society and want their children to get good education and health facilities apart from other basic amenities,” said a senior police official.
