Jharkhand package to reform ultras

RANCHI, APRIL 1. The Jharkhand Government announced today a rehabilitation package ranging from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 1 lakh for ultras operating in the State after they surrender.

The Chief Minister, Mr. Babulal Marandi, said at a press conference here that the amount to be given to surrendered extremists would depend upon the merits of the individual cases. He, however, said the ongoing anti-extremist operations in the State would continue.

The package was being given as the State felt that police action against extremists was not enough to bring them back to the mainstream, Mr. Marandi said adding that it would help them improve their lives and be part of the development process.

``It is an attempt to encourage our deviated brethren to shun arms and embark on a life of peace and prosperity.'' Citing poverty and unemployment as the main causes for extremism in the State, Mr. Marandi said the government, apart from this package, would soon launch several development programmes in the affected areas in a bid to eliminate the basic factors which had led to the growth of this menace.

``We have already initiated steps for the infrastructural reconstruction of the extremist-prone rural areas to ensure that socio-economic circumstances do not force an individual to take to arms.''

- PTI

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