Dantewada Blast: Maoists Warn Against Bringing Jawans' Bodies Back to Villages

Amid warnings by the Maoists, dead bodies of two jawans couldn't be cremated as per the wishes of their families.

"Dulgo was killed within such a short time after he joined the force," Mangluram Mandavi, brother of 22-year-old Dulgo, who hailed from Marjum village under Katekalyan police station limits, told The Quint.

(Photo sourced by The Quint.)

Dulgo Mandavi surrendered as a Maoist in 2020. Three years later, on 6 March 2023, he joined the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a state-grown force comprising surrendered Maoists and local youth.

And, just 41 days after, he was among the 10 personnel killed in the deadly Maoist attack in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, 26 April.

"Dulgo was killed within such a short time after he joined the force," Mangluram Mandavi, brother of 22-year-old Dulgo, who hailed from Marjum village under Katekalyan police station limits, told The Quint.

Making matters worse, the Maoists allegedly issued a warning against conducting his last rites in his village.

Mangluram, who is also a jawan serving in the DRG, said that the village sarpanch asked them not to bring Dulgo's body back to the village.

"The village sarpanch told us that they have been warned by Maoists to not conduct the final rites of Dulgo in the village, and do it in Dantewada."

Mangluram

Dulgo was cremated behind Dantewada's Karli police line after officials, including Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, paid their final tributes to those who were killed.

(Photo sourced by The Quint)

Dulgo was cremated behind Dantewada's Karli police line after officials, including Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, paid their final tributes to those who were killed.

Just like Dulgo, Joga Kawasi – a resident of Badegadam village under Katekalyan police station limits of the Dantewada district – surrendered as a Maoist in 2020. He, too, joined the DRG on 6 March 2023.

Joga's family couldn't come to receive his dead body allegedly due to Maoist threats. His friend, Ganga Muchaki, also a Maoist-turned-cop, received his body and cremated him.

Ganga told The Quint that Maoists killed Joga's father within a year after he surrendered in 2020.

"I knew Joga through some distant relatives, and we both had surrendered. So, we knew each other in Dantewada as well. His father was killed by Maoists in 2021 – within a year after he surrendered to the police in 2020."

Ganga Muchaki

Maoists Take Responsibility For The Attack, Appeal To Youth to Not Join Police

The banned outfit Communist Party of India (Maoists) claimed responsibility for the attack on DRG personnel, accusing "security forces of atrocities and turning Bastar into a security camp".

A press note issued by the Darbha division of Maoists alleged drone attacks, and said, "In such a situation, the public has no option but to resist. In the recent act of resistance, the PLGA forces attacked the DRG goons."

The outfit in its statement also appealed to the police to support the rightful needs of the public. They said Maoists "understand the compulsion" of the people to join the police force as they have to fend for their families.

At the same time, they appealed to the youth to demand jobs in other departments of the government rather than joining the police force.