Frontline to front office: Policy makes way for Chattisgarh's ex-rebels

Under Chattisgarh govt's policy, a high-ranked rebel surrendering is eligible to get Rs 5 lakh while middle and lower cadre are entitled to get Rs 2.5 lakh

Clad in blue saree, Dasmi Kuhrami welcomes visitors with folded hands that once pulled the trigger to target security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s restive Bastar region.

Now in her mid-twenties, Dasmi joined the Chetna Natya Mandali (CNM), a frontal organisation of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), when she was just 13 in 2011. A resident of Chandameta in Bastar district, her family was living in deprivation that reportedly forced her to join the Red army.

Initially, she was asked to promote Mao ideology through cultural activities among villagers in the remote pockets. She was later elevated in the party to join the main cadre. Dasmi, who was carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh, was involved in several deadly attacks on security personnel.

While working with the organisation, she met Vargesh, another hardcore Maoist. They decided to get married and lead a peaceful life. But fate willed otherwise for Dasmi as Vargesh was killed in an encounter with security forces in Katekalyan on the very day they tied the knot. 

The incident devastated her and she decided to lay down arms.

“The Chhattisgarh government’s attractive Maoist surrender and rehabilitation policy provided a platform and she joined the mainstream in July 2020,” Inspector General of Police (Bastar) Sundarraj P said.

Dasmi is one of the 1,463 Maoists surrendered in the last three and a half years swayed by the scheme, he said, adding that in the current calendar year, 259 rebels have laid down arms (as one June 24, 2022).

Under the state government’s policy, a high-ranked rebel surrendering is eligible to get Rs 5 lakh while middle and lower cadre are entitled to get Rs 2.5 lakh, besides a monthly stipend of Rs 6,000 for a maximum period of 36 months. It excludes additional incentives for recovered weapons and grants for study and house construction.

Besides the package, the administration is also skilling surrendered Maoists according to their eligibility and talent. A well-equipped skill development centre has been set up at Adawal on the outskirts of divisional headquarters of Jagdalpur where surrendered rebels are imparted training. Dasmi is one of the beneficiaries of the centre.

Dasmi was skilled in human resources at the centre where she has been transformed as a receptionist. Dasmi has been absorbed at Chitrakote Eco-Tourism Resort, managed by the state-run Chhattisgarh Tourism Board at Chitrakote, which has found place in the tourism map because of its beautiful waterfalls.