M A I N   N E W S

Cast vote and lose hands, warn Maoists

Raipur, November 26
Maoist guerrillas in Chhattisgarh have threatened to chop off the hands of people who dared to vote in the Assembly poll on December 1.

Outlawed Maoist groups operating in six districts of Chhattisgarh have issued this warning, police officials say.

Tribal villagers in Maoist-dominated areas have decided to keep away from the election due to the threat. While the rest of Chhattisgarh is witnessing hectic campaigning ahead of the poll, an uneasy calm prevails in villages in these seven constituencies. Flags, posters and banners of political parties are no where to be seen in the interior villages of districts affected by Maoist violence. However, there are posters put up by guerrillas warning people against voting.

The constituencies worst-affected by Maoist activities in Datewada and Bastar districts include Narayanpur, Bijapur, Konta, Keshkal, Dantewada, Chitrakot, Kondagaon and Jagdaldpur.

About 25 armed Maoists descended on Kondgur village in Keshkal constituency and warned the people against voting. They said anybody who dared to vote would lose his hands.

According to police records, Maoists are active in at least six districts of the state. These are Bastar and Dantewada in the south, Rajnandgaon, Kanker, Raigarh and central Chhattisgarh and Sarguja and Jashpur in northern Chhattisgarh.

The fear of the rebels is most evident in the villages of Bastar and Dantewada districts.

The Central Reserve Police Force has been deployed in the state to ensure free and fair poll. But their presence has neither deterred the Maoists, nor boosted the morale of villagers. Such is the fear of the Maoists that not only the villagers, but even candidates are not in a mood to confront the rebels.

“Everybody is scared of the Maoists. For this reason, the candidates and their supporters are limiting themselves to villages not very far from district headquarters,” said an office-bearer of a political party.

Even prominent campaigners of political parties are refraining from visiting Maoist-dominated areas. “Once senior leaders reach state Capital Raipur, either their helicopter develops some snag or they start feeling unwell,” said a social worker in Bastar. “It has been left to the candidates to manage elections,” he added.

A senior police official said adequate steps had been taken to ensure that people cast their votes freely. “Central and paramilitary forces are patrolling these areas for the past one week to dispel fear from the minds of the people,” he said.

“Even the police and paramilitary forces are jittery about venturing into villages deep in the jungles of Chhattisgarh. The Maoists, experts in guerrilla warfare, have scored against the police several times this year,” sources said.

“There are also some reports of Maoists laying land mines in Bastar and Dantewada. So the security personnel are jittery,” they added. — IANS