Admitting the fact that the rebel groups have been demanding their children from the villagers on gunpoint in order to expand their cadre base, lohardaga Police taking a fresh initiative has started a hostel for the children who have succeeded in running away from the clutches of the rebels. The hostel, from where the children are taken to schools in police protection, is completely run by the district police on donations. Presently, there are 26 children living in the hostel, six of them are the runaway kids.
“There are reports that the rebels after losing support from local villagers are facing acute shortage of cadres, are now forcing the poor villagers to donate one child from each family in order to expand their cadres,” said lohardaga SP Mrityunjay Kumar. The police also have information that the rebels have beaten up the villagers who refused to follow the dictate issued by the rebels, added Kumar.
Several children taken away forcefully by the rebels have succeeded in fleeing from the camps and now they do not want to go back to their homes due to fear. lohardaga Police, taking a lead in this regard has opened up a hostel for those children and taking care of their food facilities and lodging along with their education from the fund collected purely on donations.
“We have opened a school here in lohardaga to cater to the need of those kids who are being targeted by the rebels or those who have fled from their camps and are looking for a safe abode for them,” said the lohardaga SP.
At present there are 26 children of the age group of 10-15 years who have been admitted to the local schools along by the district police, said Kumar. All the expenses right from their fooding to lodging, besides their education is being arranged by the district police from the funds collected through donations,” the SP added. The school has been named ‘Bal Police lodge’, he said.
Tribal children in Jharkhand have always been a soft target of the rebel groups in order to strengthen their numbers and to use them as human shields. Villagers of Peshrar in lohardaga these days have lost their sleep as the rebels have demanded one child from each household through sticking posters in the village. They have threatened to be ready to face the consequences if they do not follow their instructions.
Theses rebels are also exploited by the rebels as human shields against the security forces and also use them courier to carry their consignments from one place to another. This is being done in the left Wing Extremism (lWE) affected districts of Gumla, lohardaga, Simdega and Palamu.