By Kartik Lokhande
Three
girl students of Government Ashram School at Laheri village in
Maoist-affected Bhamragad tehsil of Gadchiroli district, who are missing
for about 25 days now, are suspected to have been ‘taken away’ by the
Left Wing Extremists. A fact-finding team from Nagpur has come to this
conclusion after visiting the school and villages.
As was published
by ‘The Hitavada’ earlier, these three girl students of Government
Ashram School at Laheri village had gone missing since January 3. The
girls are aged 16, 15, and 14 years and hail from Malampaddur,
Hindewada, and Keyar villages respectively. One of the parents had
lodged a missing person’s complaint with Laheri Sub Police Station after
which offence under Sections 364, 365, and 366 of the Indian Penal Code
was registered against unidentified ‘kidnappers’. Police teams were
dispatched to trace these girls.
The members of the fact-finding
team from Nagpur comprising Prof Arvind Sovani, Prof Rashmi Paraskar,
Datta Shirke, and Jitendra Shrirame -- under the banner of voluntary
organisation Bhumkal -- visited the school, interacted with parents of
the missing girls; residents of Malampaddur, Hindewada and Laheri;
employees and teachers of Laheri Ashram School, and officers of Laheri
Police Station. According to Sovani, considering Maoist presence in
Laheri and its proximity to Maoist-infested Abujhmarh, there is
apprehension that the girls might be ‘taken away’ by the outlaws.
According
to the parents of the missing girls, Sovani said, the girls were last
seen in village Permilbhatti in Abujhmarh area. The girls then
reportedly moved towards Chhattisgarh border the next day, as confirmed
by Madavi, a woman resident of Permilbhatti. The parents of the girls
denied any possible love affair of their daughters. The parents also
conducted an exhaustive search in the Maoist-dominated area but were
unsuccessful in locating the missing girls.
“The residents of
Mallampodur, Hindewada, and Laheri seem pretty sure that the Naxals have
forcibly recruited these girls. There are rumors in the area that the
Naxals have sent letters to the girls’ parents, signed by Naxal
commander Tarakka, accepting the recruitment of these girls. However,
the petrified parents prefer to keep mum,” said Sovani. API Jadhav of
Laheri Police Station did not confirm the rumors and said that it would
be too early to comment, he added.
The fact-finding team alleged
that the course of events, geographical location, and strong presence of
Maoist supporters in Laheri area indicated that the girls were
‘forcibly recruited’ by the Left Wing Extremists. “Police silence over
the issue is out of apprehension of tarnishing of image,” said Sovani.
The fact-finding team accused the State machinery of ‘not being serious’
about the issue.
The team argued that there were a number of Human
Rights activists who were worried about rights of Naxals but these same
activists ‘lent a deaf ear’ when it came to violations of the rights of
ordinary tribals. The fact-finding team plans to lodge a complaint with
the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and
National Commission for Women.
UN report on children
working for Maoists
The
Nagpur-based fact-finding team of Bhumkal organisation, quoting from a
report of the United Nations titled ‘Children and Armed Conflict’,
pointed out that there were about 2,500 children working for the Naxals
in affected areas in India. National Commission for Protection of Child
Rights (NCPCR) also acknowledges that Naxals recruit minor children as
cadres. NCPCR has also launched ‘Bal-Bandhu’ programme in
Maoist-affected districts including Gadchiroli district. This programme
aims at giving solace to children in hamlets who live in constatnt naxal
threat. As per the UN report, “The reported presence of girls within
Naxalite ranks also raises concerns regarding sexual violence against
children. According to the Government, based on statements of several
women formerly associated with Naxalite groups, sexual violence,
including rape and other forms of abuse, is a practice in some Naxalite
camps.”
(30-01-15)
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