Bhubaneswar, June 11: As many as 295 active militias, village committee members, sympathisers and members of a local pro-Maoist organisation Gana Natya Sangha have surrendered before the police and district administration of Malkangiri, sources said on Saturday.
Odisha Director General of Police office sources here said the villagers of Dhakadpadar, Dabuguda, Taber and Arlingpada of Jantri Gram Panchayat under Jodambo Police station were involved in several Maoist-related violence.
They were involved in the exchange of fire, arson, civilian killings, hoisting of black flags instead of the national flag, burning of vehicles, boycotting of Assembly and Parliamentary elections, supply of food and logistics to Maoists, passing of information about the movement of security forces, and threatening and assaulting innocent tribals to leave their villages for allegedly being police informers.
The villagers said they were misled by the Maoists and forced to indulge in violence. They said they decided to surrender and join the mainstream after the surrender of militias on June 2 and on seeing the development work by the government in the area.
They expressed their opposition to the Maoist ideology by burning the Maoist dress materials and shouting anti Maoist slogans “Maobadi Murdabad”.
The surrendered Maoists performed dhemas (local folk dance) at the camp. A grand feast was organised by the police and the district administration on the occasion.
The district administration also distributed job cards, pension cards and the Police distributed sports equipment to the surrendered villagers.
