Woman Maoist surrenders in Orissa - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

A woman Maoist recently surrendered to the police in Orissa's Rayagada district to escape a forced marriage with a fellow rebel. The rebel has been identified as Laxmi Pidikaka, an active member of Jangudi Dalam, a branch of the Maoist outfit for past two years. Originally she belongs to Golonda village in Gudari block of Rayagada district in Orissa. According to Ashish Singh, Superintendent of Police of Rayagada, more information will come out fetched during interrogation. "She is involved in Maoists activities. She will provide us more information during interrogation," said Singh. Pidkaka was a resident of Gulunda village in Rayagada district and wanted in more than a dozen crimes in Rayagada and Gajapati. She decided to quit the party after some rebels wanted her to marry a cadre of Chhattisgarh. "I am Oriya and they were Hindi speaking people. They were not able to talk properly in the language. Even we couldn't talk to them. So they forced us to marry them. But, I did not like this. I was against it. So I decided to surrender," said Pidkaka. Pidkaka, at the age of 14, joined the Maoist organisation to take up arms against the administration. After joining the Maoists, she took part in several operations. She was also involved in arms and armour loot in Nayagada.