Bhopal/Balaghat: Three Maoist ranks living in the hideouts near Kanha National Park in Balaghat are infected with Covid-19 , claimed Madhya Pradesh police on Thursday.
The claim of Madhya Pradesh police came within a couple of days of a similar one made by their Chhatisgarh counterpart.
The police claimed that they have definite information that the Maoists infected with the covid-19 virus are frequently visiting villages situated near their hideouts for treatment.
Superintendent of police (SP), Balaghat Abhishek Tiwari said, “We have input about three Maoists of 2 and 3 Vistar Dalam who have been taking help of villagers for treatment of covid-19. There is much possibility that they would spread virus in rural areas especially in Garhi and Malajkhand of the district.”
He added that separate teams have been formed to keep watch on the movement of the Maoists cadre in the area.
“We have also appealed to them to surrender and join the mainstream of society. Government will take care of their treatment,” Tiwari told the Free Press Journal.
Notably, the movement of Maoists was noticed to have increased in Balaghat district especially in the area close to Kahna National Park and also in the buffer zone of the national park. In December 2020, two women Maoists wanted in several cases in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra were killed in a police encounter.
After the encounter Madhya Pradesh police had claimed that more than 100 Maoists sneaked into Madhya Pradesh from Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, apparently to expand their cadres and also strengthen their base especially in tribal dominated districts of Madhya Pradesh.
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