‘Missing girl students of Govt Ashram School in Laheri taken away by Naxals’


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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