A 42-year-old tribal man in Latehar district of Jharkhand was brutally flogged at Garu police station in the intervening night between February 23, 2022 and February 24, 2022. This is the same district where Piri Adivasi Brahmadev Singh was allegedly murdered by security personnel in June 2021. In both instances, police accused locals of either being or helping Maoists.
On Wednesday night Kuku village’s Adivasi farmer Anil Singh and his family were fast asleep, when Garu police woke the residents around midnight. Officials marched Singh to the police station where Station in-Charge officer Ranjit Kumar Yadav accused the farmer of helping Maoists. When Singh rejected the allegation, he was allegedly struck with “300 to 400 lathi blows” inside the cop’s office. As per Singh’s account, he has injuries on his backside and chest. Photos of his injuries show his buttocks were skinned by the force of the attack. He also claimed Yada poured petrol on him. This is all Singh remembers before he fainted from the pain.
Worse still, the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM) which brought this incident to the forefront said that the police apologised to the man the next morning for accidentally picking him up. He was kept in the station until February 25 when the Superintendent of Police met him and urged him to change his blood-stained trouser and underwear for clean ones.
6/n Anil further explains how the police forced him to give them his blood-soiled trouser and underwear. @HemantSorenJMM @sharmasupriya @raman_anuradha @Belaben @svaradarajan @suchitrav @SreenivasanJain @vrsrini @abhishekangad @roadscholarz @India_NHRC @MaryLawlorhrds pic.twitter.com/SsK3Dycn1v
— Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (@JharkhandJanad1) March 3, 2022
The news angered many netizens including Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who called for an enquiry and strict action against those responsible for the incident. The Latehar police responded to the instruction by saying that “the necessary legal action is being taken”.
.@JharkhandPolice मामले का तत्काल संज्ञान ले दोषियों के ख़िलाफ़ कड़ी कार्रवाई करते हुए सूचना दें। https://t.co/A4ZACHSldK
— Hemant Soren (@HemantSorenJMM) February 27, 2022
However, far from satisfied, the JJM pointed out that such incidents persist in the region where security personnel arbitrarily attack unarmed Adivasi villagers on suspicion of being Maoists. Noting that the current Soren-led government won based on issues such as the gruesome killing of Brahmadev Singh, the JJM asked when such attacks on Adivasis would end? JJM demanded that the government lodge an FIR against the Garu police station in-charge under the SC/ ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Further, it demanded compensation to Singh for his ordeal.
6/n Innocent Adivasi Bramhadev Singh of the same block was killed by security forces a few months back. He was shot dead during a naxal search operation. One of the issues that the current govt won on was repression by earlier govt. When will this stop? https://t.co/WFlVcoYo0Z
— Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (@JharkhandJanad1) February 27, 2022
आदरणीय महोदय @HemantSorenJMM
मामले का संज्ञान पुलिस अधीक्षक लातेहार के द्वारा लिया गया है, आवश्यक विधि संगत कार्रवाई की जा रही है। @JharkhandCMO @HemantSorenJMM @JharkhandPolice @anjanianjan3— Latehar Police (@LateharPolice) February 28, 2022
Yet on March 2, Singh’s complaint against the Garu police was not accepted by the nearby Chhipadohar police. They asked the family to report an FIR at the Garu police station where the incident occurred. Further, they also demanded that Singh produce a medical report as well as the inquiry report. Singh along with the village heads expressed deep dissatisfaction from this news.
On June 12, security forces out on a purported search for Naxals opened fire on some Adivasi folk from Piri village. Six Adivasis died during the incident including Brahmadev. His family still awaits the compensation due to them.
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