Once on most-wanted list, now in uniform: Ex-Maoist women celebrate Rakshabandhan with home minister

RAIPUR: Former women Maoists — including those who were part of the security cover for the dreaded central committee member and most-wanted Maoist commander Hidma — tied rakhi to Chhattisgarh home minister Vijay Sharma in Dantewada district on Raksha Bandhan. Among them were Tulsi and Sundari, both former cadres of CPI (Maoist), who carried a bounty of Rs 8 lakh and used to guard Hidma, are part of Danteshwari Fighters now. Tulsi, once a medical team in-charge in the PLGA’s battalion number one and a member of Hidma’s personal security team, had spent years in the insurgency before surrendering. Today, she serves in the state’s elite women’s commando force, the DRG Danteshwari Fighters, participating in counter-insurgency operations and having been involved in encounters against former comrades. “These sisters once strayed into the path of Naxalism but have now returned to the mainstream,” home minister Sharma said, urging other women still involved in the insurgency to lay down arms. “Society will welcome them as sisters and help them rebuild their lives,” he added. “Women in Chhattisgarh’s forces are standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts, it’s a historic contribution to the state’s security,” he said, reiterating the govt’s target of making the state Maoist-free by March 2026. For Tulsi, the journey from guarding one of the most feared Maoist leaders to wearing the uniform of the state police represents a complete transformation, she said, “once we roamed the forests with weapons, now, we go on operations to end Maoism.” The moment also saw tribal welfare minister Kedar Kashyap, Bastar IG P Sundarraj, and Dantewada collector Kunal Dudawat receive rakhis from the surrendered women fighters.