By IANS
Raipur : Fifteen women who stopped Maoists from kidnapping six farmers in Bijapur, one of the worst insurgency hit districts of Chhattisgarh, have been felicitated by police.
A function held Sunday at the district headquarters showered praise on the women. The rebels had kidnapped six farmers but the women surrounded them and forced them to retreat. The incident took place Saturday in the Jainagar area, some 480 km south of state capital Raipur.
District Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ratanlal Dangi presented each of the women with a sari and appealed to people to unite and take on the Maoists.
“We always like to see the local masses taking on militants in the trouble-torn Bastar region, but it’s more pleasant to know that tribal women are also taking up the cause. Such acts will inspire people in Bastar to flush out militants who have blocked development in this mineral-rich region for decades,” Dangi told IANS by phone Monday.
The Bastar region, which comprises Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Kanker and Bastar, has emerged as a Maoist terror nerve centre in the past three years. The region has witnessed several cold-blooded killings since June 2005, including the butchery of 55 cops in Bijapur district in March this year.