Maharashtra teenager who joined Naxals clears Class X, wants to be a cop

A teenager who was once forced into Naxalism but managed to escape from the clutches of the outlaws - has now cleared Class 10 and wants to join the police.

The girl, Rajula Hidami, now around 19, now wants to do Class 11 and 12 and subsequently wants to join the police force.

Rajula, who belongs to the Gond tribal community, hailed from the Lavhari village in Gadchiroli district, which is infested by Naxalites.

Thanks to the efforts of Deputy Inspector General Harish Baijal and Additional Superintendent of Police Sandeep Atole and their team, she got a fresh lease of life.

Baijal had earlier worked as Superintendent of Police of Naxal Cell and Atole his junior.

“We are very happy with the result,” said Atole, who is currently posted as Principal of Police Training School at Daund in Pune district.

The girl passed with 51.80 per cent. “We have been taking care of her and will take care of her…we want her to study as per her wishes,” Atole told DH from Pune.

As of now, she is in Deori, where her guardian is a member of the Deori Naxal Cell. “As of now, schools are closed. She is with my parents in the village who stay alone,” the caretaker, who didn't want to be identified, told DH from Gadchiroli.

The police officials said that Lavhari village was often frequented by Naxalites and once she was asked to accompany them and subsequently recruited.

She was part of the Korchi-Khobramenda-Kurkhda dahlam that operates in the Gadchiroli district. “She was given training by the group,” Atole said, adding that in 2018, she managed to escape while on sentry duties.

“She was educated till Class VII and wanted to study further and we made the arrangements,” he said.

“There was no one to take care of her…her father had died and mother had remarried. Her two sisters were married….we decided that we will take care of her,” officials said, adding that one policeman managed to get her documents and then got her admitted to school with hostel facilities.

“Since there was no family support and that she had surrendered, we could not have left her alone and hence we decided to be under your constant watch,” a Gadchiroli police officer said.

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