E-Paper
Woman Maoist who guarded senior rebel leader surrenders to Odisha police
Rame Madkami, who was an Area Commander Member (ACM) of the protection party of Maoist central committee member Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna ,carried a bounty of ₹4 lakh on her head.
A 23-year-old woman Maoist of Malkangiri district who was a bodyguard of senior Maoist leader Ramakrishna surrendered to the Odisha police on Wednesday
Rame Madkami, who was an Area Commander Member (ACM) of the protection party of Maoist central committee member Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna surrendered before the Koraput’s superintendent of police Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo. She carried a bounty of ₹4 lakh on her head.
A resident of Kurub village of Malkangiri district, Madkami had joined the “Sanskrutika Gana Natya Mandali” the cultural troupe of CPI (Maoist) seven years ago at the age of 16. She was given military training and was armed with a .303 rifle by the rebels. She worked in different areas of Koraput and Malkangiri district and also involved in large number of incidences of violence. After being promoted to the rank of ACM she was armed with an INSAS rifle.
Police officials said Madkami was fed up with the anti-social attitude of the party and with their indiscriminate and unjustified violence against her own people. She was also disgusted with the civilian killings by the Maoists even after protests by local people. She also resented Telugu and Chhattishgarh cadres gaining an upper hand in the outfit and not treating those from Odisha well.
She had suffered a bullet injury during an encounter in July in a forest in Andhra Pradesh but the Maoists did not provide proper medical treatment allegedly because she belonged to Odisha.
“She realized that Maoist leaders are using innocent tribals of the region for their own vested interests. For that they are making innocent tribals to fight amongst themselves and once their utility is over, they are being branded as police informers and being killed mercilessly,” said a police official.
Apart from the ₹4 lakh bounty that the government had put on her, she will now get monetary assistance as according to per the Surrender and Rehabilitation Scheme of Government of Odisha. She will also get financial assistance for building house, pursuing studies and getting training in a trade/vocation of her will.
