Taking a cue from their Chhattisgarh counterparts, the Odisha police have appealed to the left wing extremists to lay down their arms and get themselves treated for COVID-19.
DGP Abhay, who on Saturday reviewed the situation at Malkangiri, an LWE-affected district, reiterated his earlier appeal that the CPI (Maoist) cadres should leave the path of violence and join the mainstream for peaceful development of the area.
“Since we share border with Chhattisgarh, some extremists slip into our district occasionally. As per our intelligence inputs, the locals are not allowing them to enter their villages. Under the circumstances, they should immediately surrender. We will facilitate their admission in hospitals if they are found infected with COVID-19,” said Rishikesh Dnyandeo Khilari, Malkangiri SP.
Mr. Khilari said the cadres aged above 18 would be vaccinated and rehabilitated as per the State’s surrender policy.
“During the past couple of years, Malkangiri has remained incidence free. Our ground reports suggest that top cadres have escaped from the district due to constant combing operations and implementation of development programmes.”
Recently, Dantewada SP Abhishek Pallava offered Maoist cadres COVID-19 treatment as there were reports of huge infections among them in Chhattisgarh.
