K.P. Sripal being felicitated in Shivamogga on Friday. Kuvempu University Vice-Chancellor Sharath Ananthamurthy and others were present.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The process that facilitated the surrender or return of Maoists to the mainstream involved efforts of both civil society and police officials in equal measure, said K.P. Sripal, advocate and member of the State Committee to oversee the implementation of the policy to rehabilitate left-wing extremists.
Mr. Sripal spoke after accepting a felicitation at a programme in Shivamogga on Friday. The citizens of Shivamogga honoured him for his role in putting an end to the Maoist movement in the State.
The advocate said that members of the State Committee, including senior officers and nominated members, travelled extensively in three States to communicate with the Maoists and convince them to return to the mainstream.
Initially, an appeal from the Committee was prepared, and the police officials took the task of reaching letters to areas that the Maoists normally visited.
“The police did work hard in identifying the families and reaching the letters, hoping that those letters would finally land in the hands of Maoists. That exercise took several months. Meanwhile, the intelligence officers collected information about the movement of Maoists from the tri-junction point, in the borders of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala to the interiors of Karnataka. The constant efforts finally started yielding results in December 2024, when the Maoists expressed their wish to contact the committee,” he said.
The Maoists, who finally returned to the mainstream, had spent several years in the forests. They entered the movement over issues that bothered their families and the community. Even after returning to the mainstream, all of their demands were related to forest dwellers, landless labourers, and against the implementation of the K. Kasturirangan Report.
“Interestingly, all these years they had no chance to put their signature. When they wrote letters of consent to return to the mainstream, they had difficulty recalling the way they signed earlier,” he stated.
Mr. Sripal said that the people of Hagalaganchi village in Sringeri taluk, members of Shantigagi Nagarikara Vedike, his colleagues on the state committee, senior officers of the government, and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah played a prominent role in the whole process.
Prof. Sharath Ananthamurthy, Vice-Chancellor of Kuvempu University, DSS state convener M. Gurumurthy, Karnataka Raitha Sangha president H.R. Basavarajappa, and others were present.
Published – February 02, 2025 07:09 pm IST