Only one village Panch Chamruram of Bhukhmarkha hamlet (considered a Maoist den) located in dense village atop hills and cut off from the rest of the settlements at a distance of about twenty kilometers from Manpur in Rajnandgaon district had casted his vote in the assembly polls held last time. However, the geographical condition of the hamlet is such that even the Maoists diktat to vote cannot compel the tribal who seldom come down. No one goes up to meet them but for a recently appointed Shiksha Karmi Mr. Tekram of Mehka Tolla hamlet who climbs the half distance to the hamlet atop the hill with the help of his motorbike and half distance walking.
"When none of the candidates contesting election took the pains to spend time and energy to climb the hills and reach our hamlet to seek our votes why should we leave our work and spend hours to go down to vote," asked a senior citizen in the hamlet to the Central Chronicle team. The officials appeal us to cast our votes. Guruji has brought some pamphlets with the appeal to vote. Â But then why don't they come with a polling booth in our hamlet instead of calling us to the polling booth in Pardoni village down," asked a tribal.
However, this time around passing through some of the worst humiliation experiences and torture few of the about 70 voters in the twenty houses in the hamlet where the state government has penetrated with its various welfare policies, engineering split in the Maoist by recruiting some of them as Special Police officers, may cast their votes.
In the midst of alleged torture in the course of severe search by the forces while some of the tribal have left the village to return after polls, the suspected Maoists rounded by the police and family members of the two Maoists turned SPOs are now a day's residing in the camp under their protection and some of them though leading a threatened life may cast their votes.
Chamruram, the lone voter from the village in the last elections was allegedly subjected to inhuman tortures and ill treatment this time around. "Acting on the complaints of one of the SPO not only did the force people manhandle me but they took away beating my son saying that his shoulder was bruised as he was a Maoist and used to move around with gun over his shoulder," said Chamruram speaking to the Central Chronicle.
He could only rescue his son only after intervention by Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh. Chamruram said his son's shoulders were bruised as he was engaged in bringing bamboos from the forests since last few days. This village has became focus of force action as few months ago the force had killed one Maoist Commander Muquaddam in the Panbaras forests adjoining to Bhukhmarkha hamlet.
Not only Chamruram but several other villagers too alleged that in the last one month hundreds of tribal men and women especially girls and women were rounded up by the men in uniform. They would compel the tribal to remove their upper clothes to verify and bruise marks and wouldn't spare any tribal even with a slight scratch on their shoulder and drub them a Maoist," said a tribal. A young girl was recently rounded up from Korkatti village where the Maoists had killed former Rajnandgaon SP Mr. Choubey and other police personnel.
 Villagers informed that force men bet two young women of Pugda village black and blue with iron rods mercilessly in front of the villagers and took them away. As women comprise a bulk of Maoist army young girls and women have been rounded from several villages like Sambalpur, Bharritolla, Sudhiyal, Mohka Madanwada, Unchapur, Teregaon, Bodhra and several villages of Maoist affected Mohla, Oundhi and Khadgaon and kept them in the makeshift camps.
When contacted, an official of about hundred armed para military force marching to climb hills towards Bhukhmarkha village at about 10 AM from Pardoni said the rounded villagers have been handed over to the local police. Indeed without any political agenda, activity and low key electioneering, the Maoists nowhere in vicinity, the rituals of conducting polls with unprecedented presence of force in the region is taking toll of the tribal especially residing in the interior hamlets.
"The Maoists, Election Reforms, Model Code of Conduct and along with the force has undoubtedly robbed the flavor and essence of democracy and elections and now the government should think of introducing compulsory voting in the country or atleast in the Maoist affected regions to strengthen participative democracy," said an official.
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