Itahari, September 8:

Some 25 persons, being made to undergo training at a Maoist training camp at Kalijhoda of Singiya-8 in Sunsari, managed to escape.

They fled as they could not tolerate the gruelling army training, said other trainees. The Maoists had established camps there on August 30 to recruit new personnel.

The second battalion of the Maoists’ Ratna Sakunta Brigade set up its headquarters there and called for fresh recruitments, informed a district leader of the Maoists.

Commissar of the second battalion Pravin said: “We need fresh blood; so, we are recruiting from all levels of society.” He, however, did not say anything about the trainees who escaped from the camp.

A youth from Khanar, who signed up for the Maoists’ army training, said that it is a tough schedule. Training begins at 4 am, at around 10 am recruits are given a break for rest and food.

In the noon, political indoctrination begins and lasts till 3 pm and from 3 pm to 6 pm recruits again go for training, he said.

The youth said many recruits have fled from the Maoists’ training camps. He said: “Several got injured in course of the tough training; some of them even got their hands and legs fractured.”

Meanwhile, a Maoist recruit accused of rape was handed over to police. Sanjaya Kumar Chaudhari of Pakali-7, who was undergoing training in the Kalijhoda temporary camp, was handed over to police at the initiative of human right activists.