Raipur: A Maoist turned inspector of district reserve guards(DRG) force in the insurgency-hit Bastar region told Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel that he still carries a weapon in hand not to take the lives of people but to protect them. The former Naxal met CM during a ‘meet and greet’ programme in the Konta region expressing his wish to shake hands with him.
Speaking about the transformed life after the surrender, Madkam shared his feelings with the chief minister stating that the development going on Bastar is changing the lives of people affected due to left-winger extremism and that the people are getting ambitious to move ahead in life instead of shrinking in fear of Maoists.
“Earlier, villagers feared being Maoist, now the Naxals shy away from me. I was misled to join the banned outfit of Maoists but I wouldn’t get any sleep seeing my brothers getting killed. I went through a lot of quilt and one day I decided to surrender,” Madkam expressed his thoughts to the chief minister. He said that his wife too was with the organization and he was the one who trained her to handle weapons, but both of them were convinced with the thought that they should lead a rather peaceful life after the surrender.
Madkam said that he became a special police officer soon after the surrender and was promoted to inspector in district reserve guards. Expressing his happiness that his three children were leading a normal and good life, studying in English medium school, which he couldn’t imagine. Madkam said to CM, ‘”I want to shake hands with you. Bhupesh Baghel called him close, shook hands with him, and clicked a picture with him.