Surrendered Maoists await rehabilitation

RANCHI: Exactly a year ago, wanted Maoists Marshal Tuti and Suresh Munda had surrendered before former DGP Neyaz Ahmed under Operation Nayi Disha amid thunderous applause from senior police officers.
Under Operation Nayi Disha, which was launched to facilitate surrender and rehabilitation of the Maoists last year, over 30 Naxalites gave up during the period.But the surrendered rebels now complain of non-fulfilment of promises made to them by the state government. In fact, lack of coordination among various state agencies has hit the rehabilitation of surrendered Naxalites. IG (special branch) S N Pradhan said, "As far as speedy trial of cases of surrendered Maoists is concerned, it was to be tried in the fast-track courts, which have been dissolved following a high court order.
Cases of surrendered Naxalites need to be taken up by respective SPs of the district with judicial commissioners for speedy trial," he added. "In fact, the progress of entire (rehabilitation) process is quite slow," admitted a police officer. Marshal's wife Saloni Tuti carrying a tiffin box for the surrendered Maoist waited near the police van on Ranchi civil court premises on Friday pleading the men in khai to allow her to give the box, but she was literally pushed away. "This is what we got after my husband surrendered. Although, we got Rs 2.5 lakh as promised by the government, but other promises like speedy trial of cases are yet to be fulfilled," said Tuti adding every week she went to meet the lawyers to know the status of the cases. Marshal Tuti is also anguished. "Had there been no promises, the situation would have been different. But now we have certain expectations," he said.
Tuti and Chand Mahto, another Maoist who had surrendered, came to court in connection with their cases. Tuti was the second in-command in the South Chhotanagpur Zonal Committee of CPI (Maoist) after Kundan Pahan, the sub-zonal commander, and surrendered with one Suresh Munda, a squad member, on August 5, last year. Mahto was the area commander. "It was better to live in the jungles. At least, I was a free man then and enjoyed a status among the villagers and rebels," said Tuti, irked over the delay in legal process. Mahto said his family members were tired of coming to court.
Nimai Das, the advocate looking after the cases of Tuti and 11 other Maoists, said cases were being taken up in accordance with due legal process but there was no speedy trial. A notification issued by the state home department on February 18, 2008 clearly said the government would provide the surrendered Maoists free legal aid. "We all are pursuing our cases at personal level and are not getting any chance to proceed for plea bargaining," said Tuti. The second provision of the notification mentioned that surrendered Maoist would be provided with a lawyer by the government to defend their cases but no such arrangement was made.
It was also mentioned that they would even be made government approvers. So far only one surrendered Maoist, Sanjay Pramanik, was made an approver and he had been acquitted in five cases that were taken up on priority basis. One more provision of the notification said cases of surrendered Maoists would be transferred to fast-track courts, which was not done as all such courts were dissolved after a high court order. The most important provision of the notification was that pending land disputes cases of the Maoists would be given special attention and disposed of through speedy trial, but till date no such trial has taken place in any court.