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Threats from Maoists do not deter them from joining police force

BERHAMPUR: Tribal and Scheduled Caste youths of naxal infested Malkangiri district showed enthusiastic response towards police constable recruitment drive despite threats and lures of Maoists.

Recruitment process is on to select candidates for 40 posts of constables in Malkangiri district. To prevent local youths joining the police force naxals had also started their propaganda through pamphlets distributed throughout the district and some banners at remote places near the Malkangiri-Motu road. The Maoists had threatened the tribal and dalit youths of the district not to join the police force through the pamphlets, said the Malkangiri Superintendent of Police (SP), S.K.Gajbhiye. The Maoists had even given the lure that they would provide more money than the police constable’s salary to the youths if they joined their People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA). Citing examples of their recent acts of violence they claimed that they had an upper hand over the police and tribal youths should join them rather than the police force.

But around 500 candidates from different parts of the district applied for the forty posts of constables, which proves youths were not biased by the Maoist propaganda against police appointment, said Mr. Gajbhiye. There were more candidates from Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste community than general candidates. It was a good response as the literacy rate is quite low in Malkangiri district. Now the Malkangiri police headquarter is getting several phone calls everyday from tribal youths from different parts of the district enquiring about the promise of relaxation of educational qualification for recruitment of tribal youths into police force. On July 20 during his visit to Malkangiri district after the land mine blast near MV-126 village which had killed 17 policemen, the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had declared that around 2,000 local tribal youths would be recruited in naxal infested districts of the State.

He had also promised that recruitment norms like educational qualification would be relaxed for these tribal youths for their recruitment into police force.

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