Frontline to front office: Policy makes way for Chattisgarh's ex-rebels

Under Chattisgarh govt's policy, a high-ranked rebel surrendering is eligible to get Rs 5 lakh while middle and lower cadre are entitled to get Rs 2.5 lakh

Clad in blue saree, Dasmi Kuhrami welcomes visitors with folded hands that once pulled the trigger to target security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s restive Bastar region.

Now in her mid-twenties, Dasmi joined the Chetna Natya Mandali (CNM), a frontal organisation of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), when she was just 13 in 2011. A resident of Chandameta in Bastar district, her family was living in deprivation that reportedly forced her to join the Red army.

Initially, she was asked to promote Mao ideology through cultural activities among villagers in the remote pockets. She was later elevated in the party