COVID-19: Maoist couple surrender out of fear

A Maoist couple, both aged 23, surrendered before the Telangana police on Saturday. According to the state police, the couple was identified as Surender and his wife, area committee member and troop member respectively of Mangaluru LOS (local organisation squad). Both of them surrendered under the fear of spreading Covid-19 among Maoist dugouts and were scared for their lives due to alleged harassment by Maoist leadership, the police said.

The couple was working for CPI (Maoist) party. Surender joined it in 2018, and his spouse in 2016, and both were working as guards to Azad, Telangana State Committee member of the party, the police said. Three days ago, the party had issued a statement to the media stating the death of its central committee member, Yapa Narayana alias Haribhushan and Indravati Area Committee member Siddaboina Sarakka alias Bharatakka, and confirmed that both of them died of Covid-19. Haribhushan's wife Bejjeri Sammakka, alias Saradakka, also died of the pandemic three days after his death.

Bhadradri Kothagudem District Superintendent of Police (SP) Sunil Dutt said that the deaths of their party members out of the pandemic brewed fear within the Maoists. The party cadres' negligence and human rights violations also posed as reasons for cadres to leave the outfit, SP added. The police have appealed to all Maoists to surrender and assured them that they would receive proper treatment and rehabilitation as per government policy.