Garuvari Kumari (name changed), 15, a runaway minor girl from the clutches of CPI (Maoists), on Thursday, accused dreaded Maoist leader Kundan Pahan of sexually assaulting her for several weeks.
According to Garuvari, he also threatened to finish her along with her family if she told anybody about that. She surrendered before the police on Thursday and received a token amount of Rs 50,000 from DIG Praveen Kumar.
The police, on the basis of her statement will lodge and FIR against Pahan under section 376 of IPC charging him of sexually assaulting a minor girl so that action could be taken against him after he gets arrested in future.
“When I was sleeping alone in my tent, Kundan Pahan slipped into it and started physically assaulting me and when I shouted, he threatened me of dire consequences,” said Garuvari, a resident of Namkum. It happened for several weeks, she added.
Garuvari, who remained with Kundan Pahan group for over three months, also revealed that Pahan was accompanied by three other girls to meet his day to day personal requirements. “I was also told how to fire and make bombs along with the other girls of the group,” she said. Finally, she managed to get away from the clutches of the rebels and came in contact of police wishing to come back into the mainstream.
Meanwhile, the DIG announced that the girl will be given the benefits of the surrender policy under the provisions of the State Government.
“We will try to rehabilitate her after fulfilling the legal formalities and will also be given all the benefits of surrender policy so that she can also be a part of mainstream,” the DIG added.
When asked about her entry into the Naxal outfit, Garuvari further revealed that she was forced to join the Naxal group by his own brother- in-law in the year 2009 during which she had been in the service of several rebels like Prasad Ji, Kishan Da, Anal Da and Kishan Ji.
Initially, she was made to join a women’s group run by Pramila Devi, but was later moved to Saranda via Mailpiri, Gitolbera and Porahat jungles. She remained at Gurijora camp along with Anmol and Prashant ji till 2012 where she came in contact of Kishan Da, Anil Mishir, Atul Ji and Kundan Pahan.
She was then put into the service of Kundan Pahan along with Shakuntala, Sujata and Sulekha doing some menial jobs of preparing food and other day to day works.
She then moved along with the group to Chatnibera camp in Chandil area where she was imparted training of making bombs in the technical camp. By then she fell in love with another Maoist Gulshan and gave a written application to Anal Da through Kundan Pahan, expressing her wish to marry Gulshan.
In May 2013, they shifted to Kadakasam under Arki police station in Khunti after a brief encounter with the police and remained in the security of Kundan Pahan along with Gulshan, Prakash, Sumitra, Pramila and others, where she was sexually assaulted by Pahan for several weeks.
“When Gulshan complained about the incident to Anal Da, the matter was let go by making formal enquiry into the matter,” said Gurijora. Garuvari has been found to be involved in at least four Naxal incidents under different police stations.