Dantewada (Chhattisgarh): As many as ten Naxalites have died of Covid-19 and food poisoning in the last three days and almost hundreds of Naxalites are suffering from the virus, confirmed Dantewada SP Abhishek Pallav on Tuesday.
The Superintendent of Police said, "a meeting of Naxalites was reported 15 days ago in the Gangalur area on the Bijapur-Sukma border. Almost 400-500 Naxalites attended this meeting. It has been found from the sources that the villagers have seen the bodies of 8 to 10 Naxalites burning on the pyre.
The Naxalites are constantly visiting the nearby villages of the Bijapur-Sukma border, which is increasing the high risk of infection. The Naxalites have also made these areas inaccessible by disconnecting the phone lines and cutting down the road, he added.
The SP has also appealed to the Naxalites to surrender and take advantage of the Lon Varratu campaign.
‘Lon Varratu’ in the local Gondi language means Return Home. Maoists in about 50 hypersensitive villages are being encouraged to surrender under this program. “The focus of Lon Varratu is to link surrendered cadres to some livelihood opportunities to help them earn a decent living and it has yielded very positive results.
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In his appeal, SP said that the treatment will be provided with the help of the police administration. This initiative will save the lives of Naxalites and villagers as well.
The Naxalites have not yet issued a press release. But the way they are maintaining silence, it is clear that a large number of Naxalites are suffering and the situation is serious, he added.
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Along with Dantewada SP, Bastar IG Sundarraj P has also said that information about the Naxalites being virus-positive has been reported.
IG said that if the Naxalites will surrender to join the mainstream, the Bastar police will help them with the medical facilities.
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