Bhubaneswar, Aug. 30: Ideological disillusionment, coupled with exploitation by top leadership, continues to drive women Maoist cadres of Orissa to surrender.

Today, two more women rebels laid down arms in Koraput, about 500km from here, taking the number of such surrenders to over 20 in the past one year. The women, Jamba Nachika, 18, and Tarai Madingi, 16, who surrendered before south-west range deputy inspector general Soumendra Priyadarshi, said they were sick of bloodshed indulged in by their colleagues and ideological deviation of their leadership.

Both the rebels, who hailed from Narayanpatna area of Koraput and were active members of the local unit of Jana Natya Mandali, a cultural wing of the CPI (Maoist), confessed to exploitation and torture by top leaders. Nachika, who was involved in several incidents of crime, including a case of murder, said she desperately wanted to return to the mainstream of the society as life in jungle had taken the scales off her eyes.

In the last one year, women cadres pining for a normal life have given up arms in several parts of Orissa. The number of surrenders of women Maoists were particularly high in Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts where it was found that the Maoists had been recruiting minor boys and girls as their foot soldiers. Complaints of sexual exploitation of women cadres in jungle camps have come frequently from Keonjhar.

Sources in the government said a sustained awareness campaign and an effective surrender policy were also responsible for the rise in the number of surrenders. “Steps have been taken to ensure that in each case of surrender, the rebels get adequate support from the government to lead a normal life. They are not only provided with money and land but also adequate security in the immediate wake of surrenders,” said an official.

In the past, some surrendered rebels have also criticised the government for holding back the full rehabilitation amount promised to them and for not taking care of their basic needs such as food and accommodation. But, officials described such cases as aberrations and lauded the government’s efforts towards bringing the rebels back into the social mainstream.