Chhattisgarh, May 2: Children along with police personnel in Kondagaon's Golawand, performed dance on one of the five songs of Bastar Police, which was launched to motivate tribal in Naxal-prone villages to choose the right path which will lead to development. The move was also an attempt on the part of the police department that to connect and engage the children and tribals culturally. The video of the dance performance is available where it can be seen that police officials and school children are dancing to a folk song holding hands.

This picture is a far cry from the April 24 and following Naxal encounters that killed 37 Naxals. The crack commando operation in Maharashtra came days after 12 Maoists were killed in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur region in March.

"The collective toll of both encounters has reached 37," another official added, describing it as the most severe setback to the Maoists in the past few years.

"This is the first time that two divisional committee members of the CPI (Maoist) have been killed in one operation,” the DIG (Gadchiroli range), Ankush Shinde, was reported as saying.

"The red terror is on the verge of total elimination. The government, over the past four years, is penetrating even into the most remotest parts of the nation," Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said in his recent address.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the nation on Ambedkar Jayanti from Bijapur, appealed the region's ultra-left militants to shun violence and enter the mainstream. This initiative by the police personnel in Kondagaon's Golawand, where along with children they performed dance on one of the five songs of Bastar Police, will encourage a better cultural exchange between the tribals and the police, thereby helping the police to develop a rapport with the locals.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 02, 2018 04:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).