Surrendered naxal awaits State relief

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Sep 7: A former naxalite is now caught between deep sea and the devil. Korra Pandhanna alias Naveen, 35, who was earlier a deputy commander of Galikonda and Polakagiri dalams is now in a fix. He can neither go back to naxals nor continue with the police. Pandhanna, a native of Kannavaram village coming under Koyyuru mandal joined naxal movement in 2001. He later gave up arms and surrendered before the then district superintendent of police Sanjay Kumar Jain in 2005 due to some health related problems and also hearing the incentives and schemes announced by the state government for the surrendered extremists. Even three years after his surrender he still awaits for his reward of Rs 1 lakh announced by the state government and leading a troublesome life as a home guard with a meager Rs 3,000 per month given by the police department. He also frequently receives threats from the extremists for surrendering and working for police. “Mine is a very miserable tale. The constant harassment by the police when I was just a naxal sympathizer drove me to become an active fulltime extremist. Later due to some health related and family problems I quit the naxal movement thinking that my life would be fine after hearing the assurances given by the state government and police,” Pandhanna told this correspondent. He further said that all the assurances given by the police and the state government were just nonsense. Pandhanna said that now he is not able to lead a peaceful life and unable to look after his family properly due to financial woes. He is pleading the authorities to sanction his reward immediately. The surrendered extremist said that he gave up arms and joined mainstream with a motive to give education to his three kids, which was not fulfilled even three years after his surrender due to the financial woes. Pandhanna can operate a AK 47, SLR and .303 weapons and took part in the assassination of a police constable and also many important land mine blasts, attacks on police stations and exchanges of fire. After his surrender Pandhanna could not live in his native Agency villages as he received threatening calls from the naxal leaders. “CPI Maoists east division committee secretary, Jagadeesh had sent statements many times saying that they would kill him. Then the police asked me to work in Vizag as a home guard. Greyhounds’ parties take us with them for combing in Agency areas. Greyhounds take us forcibly with them even though we show our unwillingness to accompany them as the extremists kill us for helping police,” said Pandhanna. Some of the surrendered Maoists once wrote some letters to the extremists stating their plight with the police department, which later fell in the hands of the police. Pandhanna said that after the combing parties seized those letters from an arrested naxal party they harassed those who wrote letters. “Now I really don’t know what to do. If I go back to my native village extremists will definitely kill me. But cannot live here with the police department,” the surrendered extremist added.