Bhubaneswar: Two women Maoists on Sunday surrendered before director general of police (DGP) Abhay in Koraput, taking their number to 18 this year alone.
In the latest incident, Debe Podiami and Gita Podiami decided to lay down arms after being allegedly tortured by their seniors for several months. They chose to surrender before the DGP during his visit to Koraput and Malkangiri on Sunday.
“They were disillusioned with the conduct and behaviour of the senior leaders. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s frequent appeals, the rehabilitation policy for surrendered Maoists and development work in the region have prompted the Maoists to join the mainstream,” a senior police officer said.
Debe (32), an area committee member, was allegedly involved in at least seven major attacks on security forces in Malkangiri district between 2006 and 2021. She had joined the CPI (Maoist) Kalimela area committee as a party member in 2005 and underwent a training on the use of firearms in 2007. She was first given a .303 rifle and later an INSAS rifle.
Gita (22) was a party member of the Andhra-Odisha Border Military Platoon, a wing of the Maoists. She was inducted into the CPI (Maoist) in 2018 in Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee. Though she belonged to Chhattisgarh, she was engaged in Maoist-related offensives in Boipariguda and Machhkund in Koraput district. She was allegedly involved in four major attacks on security personnel between 2018 and 2021 in Malkangiri district.
The DGP inaugurated the Jodambo and Kalimela police stations in Malkangiri district. “Today, @DGPOdisha inaugurated Jodambo PS building. A landmark for @odisha_police. This PS was earlier functioning from Chitrakonda. It was shifted last year to Jodambo. Now this PS building will help in rendering service to the people of #SwabhimanAnchal,” tweeted Odisha Police.
