With cases dragging on, many former left-wing extremists question point of rehabilitation package

Kanyakumari has been languishing in jail since June 2017, when she accepted the policy to return to the mainstream. The former naxals regret their decision and argue that the way the government treated them discouraged active Maoists to accept the policy

Former left-wing extremists, who joined the mainstream giving up the arms struggle, have questioned the way the State government has implemented its policy to rehabilitate them. Some feel that they should not have accepted it, given the difficulties they have been facing. Particularly those assimilated into the mainstream since 2016 expressed anger over how the government treated them.

As many as 13 people have accepted the government’s rehabilitation policy in Chikkamagaluru district since 2010. Those activists who did not have serious cases against them got bail and returned to normal life. However, people facing serious charges have been facing legal battles.

Still in jail

Kanyakumari, 40, who appeared before the Chikkamagaluru district administration on June 5, 2017, along with her husband, Shivu, and six-month-old baby boy, to join the mainstream, has been in Bengaluru jail for the last seven years. A native of Kalasa in Chikkamagaluru district, she joined the naxal movement after she participated in the ‘Save Kudremukh’ campaign in 2004. There were more than 60 cases, including 33 in Karnataka, against her.

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The police arrested her as she reached the Chikkamagaluru Deputy Commissioner’s office to surrender as per the policy, along with her baby. For six years, the baby had been with her in prison. Now, the boy is with his father and has been enrolled in a school in Bengaluru. Mr. Shivu, also a former extremist, earns a livelihood by driving an autorickshaw.

“Not even for a day Kanyakumari has been out of jail since she surrendered in 2017. Is this the way to assimilate extremists into the mainstream?” asked Mr. Shivu. She had 64 cases against her, including those in other States. Her husband has been spending whatever little he earns on attending to court matters. The government gave ₹2.5 lakh as part of the rehabilitation package, and the amount was negligible considering the expenses he had to meet all these years for court matters.

“I don’t know when Kanyakumari will come out. She has been facing serious health issues. In several of the cases, the prosecution has not yet framed charges,” he said, expressing anger over the delay in clearing cases.

Sells books

Nilaguli Padmanabh, 53, returned to the mainstream in November 2016, along with his wife, Renuka. He lost one of his legs in an encounter with the police near Barkana, near Agumbe, in 2004. As he was facing 19 cases, he was arrested on his arrival at the DC’s office, accepting the rehabilitation policy. He served term in Chikkamagaluru and Belagavi for over one-and-a-half years.

“They arrested me twice and made me go through hell in prison. Even though I got bail in one case, the officers delayed processing it and made use of the time to get an arrest warrant against me in another case. I was treated as a convicted inmate in Belagavi, though I was an undertrial. Is this the way to assimilate us into the mainstream?” he asked. When he was in prison, his wife was taking care of their child in Chikkamagaluru.

Mr. Padmanabha and Ms. Renuka stay in a hut at Nilaguli. He has sought land to cultivate and a site to build a house, but none of his demands has been fulfilled. He and his wife sell books at literary events. Mr. Padmanabha cannot take up any regular job as he has to attend to cases on different days. “Who will give me a job when I have to spend at least three days a week in court?” he asked.

Major demand

The only major demand of most of them before the government is that their cases be cleared at the earliest. “The government assured us that the cases will be cleared in six to eight months. The system has failed to fulfil it,” Mr. Padmanabh said.

Parashuram and Rizwan Begum, who also joined mainstream in 2016, are staying in Bengaluru. The couple has two daughters, admitted to schools in Chikkamagaluru. Mr. Parashuram, a native of Vijayapura, works as a driver, and Ms. Rizwan Begun does tailoring. She has been attending to cases.

Published - November 20, 2024 09:38 pm IST