Kabirdham: The Kabirdham district police have circulated pamphlets in Naxal-affected villages with the slogan ‘soochna do, inaam pao’ (provide information, earn rewards). On Tuesday, the Chhattisgarh police announced a reward of Rs.5 lakh in cash and jobs in the police force for those who provide information about Naxals in Kabirdham district.
The pamphlets aim to reach all residents in 16 of the most affected villages. They promise a cash reward of Rs.5 lakh and a job in the police force to anyone who assists in the arrest of Maoists or provides intelligence leading to their demise in encounters. Rewards will also be given to those who help Maoists surrender.
Kabirdham Superintendent of Police (SP) Mr. Abhishekh Pallava IPS noted that the offer’s posters have been put up in villages over the last two days. The reward is additional to any existing bounties declared by state or central governments on Naxals. Informers will also be eligible for recruitment as constables in the district police without taking a test, provided they meet educational and physical requirements.
According to the police, Naxals have been trying to establish a new base in the MMC-zone (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh tri-junction forest) since 2017-18, spanning parts of Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh), Gondia (Maharashtra), and Chhattisgarh districts including Rajnandgaon, Mungeli, and Kabirdham.
In the last five years, three Naxals have been killed in police encounters, and six have surrendered in Kabirdham. Around 41 villages in Kabirdham are on the interstate border where Maoist movements have been observed in the past two years, with 16 deemed most affected.
“We have sent messages to 35,000 mobile phone numbers in these villages so far, and plan to reach 1 lakh mobile phone users over the next week,” added the SP.
The district’s Naxal-affected villages are largely inhabited by the Baiga tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG). Efforts will be made to ensure that benefits of the central government’s JANMAN schemes for tribals reach these areas, he added.
