Villagers in Jharkhand state have united to tackle the growing menace of Maoists following numerous efforts by the insurgents to recruit school children into their camps.
As many as 300 people from several villages across the district are holding meetings day and night to counter the Maoist rebels. The villagers said that police have also assured help.
A resident of Telgaon village, Ravi, said gone were the days when Maoist rebels trapped villagers by luring them to perks of joining them.
"Naxals are bad people. We do not want our children be part of Naxalism. No child or family has ever evolved by being part of it. We keep hearing that they kill people with the support of police and that its impact is very bad. Hence, we try to keep our children away from this," he said.
Meanwhile, a student, Abhay Uraav, narrated the fear.
"When they come to our village, we get scared. We are also scared to go to school and we rush while returning home," he said.