Throughout the year we documented incidents of hate crimes based on caste as well as attacks on tribals. Such incidents were reported from various parts of the country and a common thread between these incidents is that caste based atrocities are often triggered by miniscule and trivial matters such as sporting a moustache, drawing water from a well, eating food at a ceremony and so on.

To witness such incidents even in this day and age is not only disheartening but should shock the conscience of the nation.

As per the statistics provided in the NCRB report, atrocities/Crime against Scheduled Castes have increased by 1.2% in 2021 (50,900) over 2020 (50,291 cases).

Uttar Pradesh (13,146 cases) reported the highest number of cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SCs) accounting for 25.82% followed by Rajasthan with 14.7% (7,524) and Madhya Pradesh with 14.1% (7,214) during 2021. The next two states in the list are Bihar accounting for 11.4% (5,842) and Odisha 4.5% (2,327). The above top five states reported 70.8% of cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes.

Furthermore, as per the report, Atrocities/Crime against Scheduled Tribes have increased by 6.4% in 2021 (8,802 cases) over 2020 (8,272 cases).

Madhya Pradesh (2627, cases) reported the highest number of cases of atrocities against Scheduled Tribes (STs) accounting for 29.8% followed by Rajasthan with 24% (2121 cases) and Odisha with 7.6% (676 cases) during 2021. Maharashtra was next in the list with 7.13% (628 cases) followed by Telangana at 5.81% (512 cases). The above top five states reported 74.57% of cases of atrocities against Scheduled Tribes.

In terms of ratio to the overall population, Dalits (SCs) are estimated to be at 16.6 per cent of the population and Adivasis/Indigenous peoples (STs) at 8.6 per cent.

We look at some of the most shocking instances of crimes against Dalits and Adivasis in 2022.

DALITS UNDER ATTACK

DECEMBER

Karnataka: Dalit minor allegedly gang-raped multiple times

A minor Dalit girl was allegedly raped by five men in Karnataka. At a coffee estate in Karnataka’s Hassan district, four people, one of whom is a minor, have been accused of gang raping a 13-year-old Dalit girl. When authorities received information about a girl who was six months pregnant and admitted to a hospital, the sexual assault of the minor child was discovered.

Four men, including the minor, have been held by police while five people have been charged in the case. Police said that the incident occurred in a town where the girl’s parents are laborers. The girl was raped more than once by more than one person, police said, and the information was shared with child development protection officers, counselors, and female police officials.

Rajasthan: Dalit family attacked, women beaten in Rajasthan’s Alwar

A Dalit family of six, including three women, was attacked in Ukeri village of Alwar district in Rajasthan. The family was attacked for allegedly vandalising and setting fire to Gorakhnath temple of the Nath sect. The accused, who attacked the family, also burnt the cattle fodder of the victim’s family to ashes. The victim family’s lawyer further said that during the physical attack, women of the family were thrashed with sticks and rods. Further, the accused is alleged to have made a video of the beating and uploaded it on social media.

Even after complaining about this to the police, no action was taken. The victim’s family has accused the Raini police station of conspiring with the accused.

Uttar Pradesh: Dalit youth thrashed for touching food at wedding

An 18-year-old Dalit youth was allegedly abused and brutally thrashed for touching the food during a wedding function. The incident took place in Wazirganj. Renu, a resident of Naubasta village, said her younger brother, Lalla, 18, had gone to attend a wedding in the village and the feast was arranged at the house of one Sandeep Pandey. As soon as Lalla picked up a plate for himself, Sandeep and his brothers abused him and thrashed him. When Lalla’s elder brother Satyapal tried to save him, they also beat him up and damaged his motorcycle. The police said that an FIR under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been lodged and a probe was underway.

Tamil Nadu: Six Dalit students allegedly made to clean toilet in government school by headmistress

Six fourth-grade Dalit students in a government elementary school were allegedly forced to clean the toilet and the water tank with bleaching powder. After the horrible case was discovered in the government school in Perundurai, near Erode, Tamil Nadu, the school’s headmistress was suspended.

The incident was uncovered after one of the victim students in the school was admitted to the Perundurai government hospital for contracting dengue. The police filed a case under the Juvenile Justice Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. According to the inquiry that was held, it was revealed that the six students were told to clean the two toilets, one used by teachers and the other by students. Following this, the education department ordered the headmistress to appear before it, but she reportedly absconded.

NOVEMBER

Karnataka: ‘cow urine’ used to purify tank as Dalit woman drank water from it

Certain ‘upper caste’ residents of Heggotara Village of Chamarajanagar District in Karnataka drained all the water from a tank, from which a Dalit woman drank water and ‘cleaned’ it with gomutra or cow urine. The incident occurred during a wedding when the bride’s relatives from Sargur in HD Kote taluk had come for the wedding. After the ceremony, when they were walking towards the bus stand, one of the women drank water from the tank. A man, upon seeing this, called other villagers and they all berated the woman for sullying the water in the tank.

After the woman left the village, the residents of Lingayat Beedhi opened the taps of the tank, released all the water, and cleaned it with gomutra. The tehsildar of the district tried to track the woman who was abused to record her statement and file a complaint. Meanwhile, a complaint has already been registered by members of the community at Chamarajanagara rural police station.

OCTOBER

Karnataka: Dalit Workers assaulted, confined for days; pregnant woman loses baby

Jagadeesha Gowda, along with his son, had been accused of assaulting and keeping 16 people from the Dalit community locked up for several days in his coffee plantation in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district. A week before the complaint was registered, the accused allegedly reprimanded the workers for not returning some money as well as snatched their phones. One of the 16 labourers who were forcibly confined, Arpitha, lost her baby after Gowda allegedly assaulted her. A case was then registered on the basis of a complaint filed by her. A criminal case has been registered against Gowda and his son Tilak under the SC/ST Act, 2015 and some sections of the IPC. The father-son duo has been absconding.

SEPTEMBER

Uttar Pradesh: Dalit teen boy died after assault by teacher

A young Dalit boy, Nikhit Dohre, faced a brute casteist assaultin Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh , on September 7 by his social science teacher, Ashwini Singh, allegedly because he spelt a word incorrectly during an exam. The victim’s father had alleged that Singh, purportedly belonging to an “upper caste”, unleashed the thrashing on the minor youth with sticks and rods, and even kicked him until he fell unconscious.

He further claimed that the teacher first gave Rs 10,000 and then Rs30,00 for the boy’s treatment but later stopped receiving their calls. The boy’s father said that when he confronted the teacher, he was also abused with casteist slurs.

Nineteen days after this attack, the 15-year-old boy died on the evening of Saturday, September 24 and the body was handed over to the grieving family on the morning of Monday, September 26. The police have included sections of the SC/ST Act in the FIR filed against the accused. The teacher, Ashwini Singh has been on the run, absconding according to news reports.

Lakhimpur Kheri: Bodies of two Dalit sisters found hanging from a tree

The bodies of two sisters hailing from a Scheduled Caste were found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur district. The autopsy report of the victims has confirmed that they were raped and strangulated to death before they were hanged to a tree by the accused men. The girls were minors, and were aged 14 and 17. The family of the girls alleged that the girls had been abducted three hours before their bodies were discovered. The police arrested six people in the said case.

Uttar Pradesh: Headmaster allegedly throws hot meal on Dalit girl, burns her arm

In Icholi village of Tikaitnagar, the headmaster of a school in Barabanki allegedly threw a hot meal on a Dalit girl student of class two. District Magistrate of Barabanki, Adarsh Singh, has now ordered a probe. Santosh Pandey, a Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) is in charge of the probe where the girl whose arm was burnt is not only a Dalit, but also differently abled. The incident allegedly took place on August 29, and came to light on September 3 after her mother filed a complaint.

Uttar Pradesh: Minor Dalit boy beaten up by headmaster for touching his bike

An 11-year-old Dalit boy was beaten up by his headmaster after he touched his bike at a pre-secondary school in Balia. The incident took place during recess at the school located in Ranaupur of Nagra area of Balia. The boy, a student of class six, placed his hand on the bike and the headmaster then started thrashing him, dragging him to his office. But before allowing the boy to leave the headmaster applied some ointment on his injuries. When the boy reached his home in Kauwapar of Bhimapur area, he showed his injuries to his father. Enraged villagers protested and the headmaster was suspended the following day. Basic education officer Maniram Singh said that a probe was conducted by a team of block officers and a report was awaited.

Uttar Pradesh: Dalit School Teacher Alleges Discrimination by Principal & Upper-caste Teachers

A Dalit teacher, Abhay Kumar Kori, who teaches Sanskrit at City Inter College, a government inter-college in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district, was allegedly discriminated against by the school principal and teachers. The Dalit teacher has alleged that kshatriya caste teachers in the school have formed a separate group and regularly hurled casteist remarks at him. As per the claims made by him, his principal and colleagues opposed to his clothes, a yellow kurta and dhoti, and his braid. He was also told to sit on the ground, and not on a chair. He also said that five teachers, mostly from the kshatriya community, snatched books from his hand and beat him in front of students.  The harassed teacher then complained to the district authorities.

ADIVASI (INDIGENIOUS) COMMUNITY UNDER ATTACK

DECEMBER

Chhattisgarh: Christian Adivasis assaulted, displaced and forcefully converted to Hinduism

Incidents of violence by Hindu outfits against the Christian community were being reported in Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts. There was an “organised campaign” to forcibly convert Christian tribals into Hindu. From December 9, 2022 to December 18, there was a series of attacks in about 18 villages in Narayanpur district and 15 villages in Kondagaon district, displacing about 1,000 Christian Adivasis from their own villages. Those displaced were told to give up their Christian faith and convert to Hindu religion, failing which they were threatened to either leave their village or face dire consequences, including death. Many Christian adivasis were gravely assaulted and beaten with lathis, tyre, and rods. At least two dozen people had to be hospitalized with injuries like fracture of collar bone.

NOVEMBER

Rajasthan: 46-yr-old Tribal man lynched for drawing water from tube well

A 46-year-old tribal man from Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district died as he was assaulted by a group of people over drawing water from a tubewell. As per the police, the family of the deceased alleged that the accused also abused the deceased man Kishanlal Bheel, from Bhomiyaji ki Ghati, with casteist slurs. Ashok, the deceased’s brother, claimed that the accused prevented the victim’s family from taking him to the hospital. The police had so far arrested three people — Shakeel, Nasir, and Bablu — and booked them under the SC/ST Act and Section 302 (murder) of the IPC.

Jharkhand: Chaibasa tribals allegedly assaulted by security forces during Naxal search op

On November 11, tribals of Anjedbeda village alleged that during a Naxal search operation by Paramilitary forces, the personnel assaulted them. As per the details divulged by the victims, a couple of jawans attempted to rape a teenage girl and in that bid molested her and pulled her towards the forest, when her mother intervened even the mother was beaten up. A boy, about 16 years of age was kicked, tied up with a rope while they allegedly pulled his hair, beat him up with slippers and even tried to strangle him. Even his mother was allegedly not spared and was assaulted as she was beaten up by the butt of the rifle, kicked and grabbed by her hair and thrown on the ground. They also entered a few homes and vandalized them. When the jawans entered the home of a pregnant woman with their shoes on, she protested and one of them allegedly pointed the rifle at her chest and then scattered all the household items, enraged by her protest.

In December, 2022, the Anjedbeda’s villagers wrote to the DC & SP with descriptive details of the violence. They demanded in the FIR filed that action be taken against the perpetrators, and violence against Adivasis be stopped.

Telangana: Adivasi man takes 3-yr-old daughter’s body on bike for 65 km after hospital refuses ambulance

A father was forced to take the dead body of his 3-year-old daughter on a bike for 65 kilometres since he did not have money for an ambulance and the Khammam government hospital refused to provide an ambulance. The man, Vetti Mallaiah, belonged to an Adivasi family in Kota Medepalli village of Enukuru Mandal in Khammam district, as was reported by India Today.

The Adivasi couple’s daughter, Vetti Sukki, was taken to Enkur government hospital where the doctor said that the girl’s condition was critical and referred her to the Khammam government hospital. However, she died there while undergoing treatment in the early morning hours on Sunday.

The girl’s father reached his native village and informed his relatives. He took a bike from his relatives in the village to move the girl’s dead body from the Khammam government hospital to New Medepalli village. The girl’s family members had alleged negligence by the government medical staff.

OCTOBER

Chattisgarh: Adivasi Christian cop thrashed by superiors, pistol confiscated

A group of Adivasi Christians were allegedly attacked in the Sukma district of Chattisgarh in October. When they tried to file a police case, the same was refused by the police.

Madvi Joga, a police officer who was also an Adivasi Christian, requested his superiors to investigate the matter. Following this request, Joga was repeatedly thrashed by his superiors. In a video that was shared on Twitter, a police officer in plain clothes was seen slapping Joga continuously while verbally abusing him. Meanwhile, Joga did not raise his hand or lose his cool the whole time. As was reported by Siasat.com, following the incident, Joga was forced to surrender his pistol and was made to be weaponless in a densely populated Naxal district with frequent clashes.

AUGUST

Kerala: Adivasi Mooppan assaulted for obstructing marijuana sale

An Adivasi mooppan (chieftain), Kani Gopi, was attacked by a man named Rahul, a resident of Kulamankuzhi, for objecting to the sale of marijuana by him. The chieftain had also threatened to inform officials about such sale. On August 18, the accused entered Gopi’s house with another person, and attacked Gopi, as was reported by Mathrubhumi.com. Gopi’s ribs were broken in the attack. After the attack, the accused fled the area. The accused also tried to obtain anticipatory bail in the case but failed following which they went into hiding. Police received information that the accused were in Thiruvananthapuram. Rahul was taken into custody, but the other accused ran away.

MAY

Madhya Pradesh: Two Adivasi men allegedly lynched on suspicion of killing cow

Two Adivasi men accused of slaughtering a cow were allegedly lynched by a mob of 15 to 20 men in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district, as was reported by the PTI. The incident took place early on the morning of May 2, between 2.30 am and 3 am, in the Kurai police station limits. The two men died while being taken to hospital and another sustained minor injuries, as per the police. The complainant, Brajesh Batti, who was also injured in the attack, alleged that the assailants belong to the Hindutva group Bajrang Dal. Batti said he along with the deceased men were beaten with sticks.

Nearly 20 men have been booked in connection with the attack, a police official said, as reported by the PTI. Of these, six were charged with murder.

APRIL

Tamil Nadu: Malasar Tribals evicted from ancestral land

About 40 Malasar tribal families of Navamalai village, who used to live on the border of Tamil Nadu’s Anamalai Tiger Reserve had not only been denied the rights to ownership of their land, as conferred by the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA), but were also driven out of their ancestral land, where they had been living for five generations. The reason for this eviction was that their 100-acre agricultural land in Navamalai village was being completely used to plant coconut trees by the local owner known as ‘Chettiar’.

The tribals were distressed by lack of proper sanitation and electricity supply, poor access to healthcare and livelihood opportunities. Lack of electricity supply not only hindered their children’s studies after sunset, it also made it difficult for them to protect themselves from snakebites. By driving them out of their ancestral property, the State government had deprived them of their source of livelihood as they source water, food and firewood from the forest as also graze their goats in the forest.

Karnataka: 9 booked for assault on Adivasi woman

A tribal woman was allegedly stripped and assaulted by a group of nine people in a village in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, as reported by Udayavani. As per the police sources, the incident occurred on April 19 in front of several villagers at Guripalla village in Belthangady taluk of the district. Cases have been registered against all the accused. The nine persons were booked based on a complaint from the 35-year-old woman, who alleged that the gang tore her clothes, made her semi-nude and shot a video of the incident. Her elder sister and mother were also assaulted, the woman said in the complaint.

The accused have been identified as Sandeep (30), Santhosh (29), Gulabi (55), Suguna (30), Kusuma (38), Lokayya (55), Anil (35), Lalitha (40) and Chenna Keshava (40), all belonging to the victim’s village, police said. Sources said the incident occurred when a team of revenue department officials reached the village to measure the government land where the complainant and her elder sister were staying as per the application given by the woman to the authorities. The accused objected to the work done by the officials and created a commotion forcing the surveyors to leave the spot, after which the nine-member gang assaulted the woman.

MARCH

Madhya Pradesh: Mob sexually assaults Adivasi woman, 15 arrested

Fifteen men were booked by police for allegedly sexually assaulting two Adivasi women in Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur district, PTI reported. The incident took place during Bhagoriya, a festival celebrated by Adivasi communities in the state a week before Holi. The police said they had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter after videos of the assault were shared on social media.

In the video, a man can be seen sexually assaulting the women, before another person pushes him away. A few seconds later, another man grabs a woman and drags her towards a group of men, who then sexually assault her. Some other men can also be seen making videos of the incident.

The policed then informed that they have nabbed three of them while five others, who were shooting the video and instigating the accused, are absconding. The police have booked the arrested persons under Sections 354(a) (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 34(a) (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

FEBRUARY

Jharkhand: Police physically assault Adivasi farmer

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. As reported, 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 had 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.

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The post A year of exacerbated attacks on Dalits and Adivasis, arguably two of the most marginalised sections of the Indian population appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Concerned about the alleged aerial attacks in Bijapur and Sukma forests in Chhattisgarh in mid-April, various people’s collectives appealed on April 25, 2022 for a dialogue between the administration and protesting villagers.

On the intervening night between April 14 and April 15 certain ‘indeterminate platforms’ attacked Bottetong and Mettagudem (Usoor block), Duled, Sakler, Pottemangi (Konta block) villages among others with ordnance explosives and left craters in the jungle. Villagers speaking to local news said that there were loud noises and flashes of fire from the forest.

Moreover, these bombs did not detonate in “uninhabited” areas but during a time of peak mahua collecting season. Villagers, especially women and children, wake up at 3 AM to collect mahua before the day grows warm.

Unsettled by this, organisations like the PUCL, NFIW, HRD and CBA called upon the Chhattisgarh and union governments to not conduct any aerial attacks on Adivasi areas where villages have long since been protesting security camps, fake encounters and mass arrests.

“Under what law are the Centre and State allegedly carrying out aerial attacks, with drones or other platforms, in these areas? If the Government is claiming the aerial raid reports are Maoist propaganda, why does it not order an independent investigation or issue a white paper on this?” asked collectives in a joint press release.

Members argued that evidence of air-dropped lethal ammunition proves the ‘non-international armed conflict’ in Chhattisgarh that the government terms a ‘law and order’ problem. Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions ratified by India prohibits inhumane treatment of civilians. Further, India is bound by customary international law prohibiting the indiscriminate use of ordnance.

“People are constantly going into the forests to collect non-timber forest products, graze their cattle, perform routine ablutions and so on. Given the extensive access to the forest by civilians, aerial attacks on forests amount to direct hostilities against civilians,” said collectives.

Activists demanded that security forces look into these violations of human rights recognised by more than one judicial enquiry, CBI, NHRC and the Supreme Court. They also demanded justice for the innocent victims of mass killings by security forces in Sarkeguda and Edesmetta and to mass arson, rape and killing victims in Tadmetla, Timapuram and Morpalli.

Additionally, dissenters said that the government must stop militarising Bastar with additional battalions and security camps. As per the 2011 Supreme Court direction the District Reserve Group (DRG) must be disbanded, Special Police Officers must be banned and Naxalites in counterinsurgency operations against Maoists be surrendered, under any name. Accordingly, the administration should engage in peace talks with the CPI (Maoist).

While the police deny the use of drones to carry out the alleged bombing, collectives said they still need to explain the craters, wire remnants and other ordnance material in the forest.

“It is important that the authorities clarify the type of ammunition used and the reasons for this type of raid,” said the activist groups.

In 2010, the then Air Chief Marshal had told The Hindu, “The military are not trained for limited lethality. The weapons we have are meant for the enemy across the border. Therefore, I am not in favour of the use of air force in situations like the Naxal problem.” Nowadays, the same appears to have happened, although it may not involve the Air Force per se.

Activists condemned terming the dangers faced by innocent Adivasis due to lethal ammunition and sophisticated attacks as “collateral” damage. They demanded that such actions potentially targeting civilians should be stopped immediately.

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The post Can the government explain craters and remnants of explosives in Sukma and Bijapur forests? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Listing as many as 11 instances of state induced violence against vulnerable groups, the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha’s (JJM) delegation met the Inspector General (Human Rights) on April 18, 2022 and discussed the continuing human rights violations and violence against Muslims in the state. While the JJM intended to meet the Director General of Police (DGP), they met with the IG instead.

Earlier, a fact finding committee of Centre for Study of Society and Secularism consisting of Director Irfan Engineer, journalist and activist Ashok Verma and United Milli Forum and Ziaullah from the Association for Protection of Civil Rights General Secretary Afzal Anees reported growing communal tensions in the Hirhi village area. The area witnessed violent communal and targeted attacks during Ram Navami procession similar to other areas in India.

In reaction to this, the JJM approached the police authorities about this growing persecution of the minorities. It also compiled a list of attacks that had taken in the last two years or so. From a 2019 incident of abduction and sexual assault to a February 2022 incident of police torture of the wrong accused; the JJM listed all the atrocities and apathies suffered by the minority communities at the hands of the state police.

“We have been continuously raising the issues of police repression against the tribal-indigenous-deprived. The recent violence against minorities and the police remaining mute spectators is also very worrying. We demand action from Chief Minister Hemant Soren on the attached issues and demands,” said the JJM in a press release.

Members demanded immediate compensation to the victims and families in the 11 cases as well as penalisation of the allegedly guilty police officers. Further, it asked that cases filed against adivasi folk under the guise of “Naxal attacks” be removed and instead allow for better FIR registration of accused police personnel.

“If a person dies while in custody, the official should face the consequences. Accordingly, as per court orders, there should be CCTVs installed in every police station,” said the JJM.

Regarding recent communal attacks, the organisation demanded that those responsible for the religious atrocities against minorities face severe punishment. Like in the case of targeting of adivasis, the JJM said that officials should be held responsible for failing to prevent needless violence. Similarly, victims’ families should get compensation.

“The local police must adhere to all constitutional rights and laws and take strict action against any communal violence,” it said.

Members also asked that the police remove police camps from schools and get permission from gram sabhas before establishing any new camps. Accordingly, security personnel should ask for similar permission before going for a search mission in Schedule 5 areas. Rather, it asked that personnel be educated sensitised about adivasi culture and language.

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The post JJM approaches IG about attacks on Muslim minority appeared first on SabrangIndia.

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.

Related:

Woman beaten, burnt on “witchcraft” charges in Simdega

Cops didn’t intervene to save Simdega lynching victim: Widow

Muslim man assaulted, Adivasi man lynched to death: What is happening in Jharkhand?

Dalits and Adivasis suffered violence and discrimination even in 2021

100 days on, Piri villagers still await justice for Brahmadev Singh

The post Jharkhand: Police physically assault Adivasi farmer appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In yet another example of police brutality, villagers from Dhinkia in Odisha were beaten up by the state police on December 20, 2021 during a mass demonstration, where the villagers were condemning institutional oppression.

Gathering near the Mahala villager border at 2 PM on Monday to decry state and police repression, protesters alleged they were blind-sided by sudden thrashings by police forces, who had entered the village unnoticed. Villagers Natha Samal, Prakash Jena, Bhramar Das and Lokanath Swain sustained severe injuries during the incident. Further, villagers alleged the police arbitrarily arrested Ajodhya Swain and Milirani Swain “without any reason”.

According to regional reports, the police and other administrative officials approached the revenue village for a demarcation drive. The Orissa Diary claimed that villagers too retaliated against the police beatings with stone-pelting.

Meanwhile, the anti-Jindal and POSCO movement leaders said, “The administration is using all means at its end to demoralise and divide people.  Abusing law and implicating dissenting affected people in false and fabricated cases seems to have become an acceptable norm these days.” They complained that day-to-day lives and activities are being hampered due to police presence near their villages and the contentious land where industrial and mining projects have been proposed. Accordingly, they demanded that the administration immediately withdraw police force from Dhinkia and ensure that normalcy is restored soon.

Earlier on December 4, a similar incident occurred where anti-Jindal and POSCO movement leader Debendra Swain was allegedly going to be arrested by police forces. Residents once again united to oppose the arrest which resulted in a severe lathi-charge.

About the anti-Jindal and POSCO movement

Years ago, POSCO withdrew its proposed steel project after facing fierce resistance from locals. However, instead of returning this land to the people, the state government put the area in a land bank where it was transferred to Jindal Steel Works Ltd. The company planned to build an integrated steel plant, a captive power plant and a cement factory.

Between August and November 2021, a fresh notification was announced for further acquisition of land, Panchayat hearings to ascertain people’s grievances and trifurcation of Dhinkia revenue village – all amidst heavy police deployment.

Already, the first wave of Covid-19 and cyclonic storm ‘Amphan’ had wreaked a severe economic crisis on people, especially betel-vine cultivators. At such a time, they also received anonymous application forms purportedly asking people to express interest in handing over their land and betel-vines to the company.

Villagers accused the government of ignoring their demand for the implementation of the Forest Rights Act-2006 since the time of the anti-POSCO movement. Earlier, the two centrally-instituted committees recommended that the forest land be distributed to the people, who will then decide if they want the project in the area.

Related:

Tougher than Steel: Odisha villagers condemn govt’s to attempts to usurp their land

Tougher than steel: Decades on, Odisha villagers still struggle to protect their land

Tougher Than Steel: Odisha Community Rally Against Transfer of Their Land, Again

Human Suffering, Environmental Degradation: That’s What POSCO Produced In Odisha

The post Odisha Police beat up Adivasi villagers appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The festive season has begun in earnest in North India. Eid is done, Rakshabandhan and Jamashtami have just gone by, soon other festivals will also bring a sprinkle of joy in the darkness that Covid-19 seems to have brought on.  

However, doing their best to kill the festive spirit and fuel hate, are vigilante mobs, taking the law in their hands with impunity. Most are out attacking innocent Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, and of course women and children. Most victims are also from economically backward backgrounds, and the accused are almost always backed by communal groups. Most of these cases are reported from north and central Indian states including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh etc. Here are just a few of the heinous anti-minority crimes reported recently. 

Uttar Pradesh: Muslim boys, 14 & 13, hacked to death near Meerut

Blood-soaked bodies of two minors — Mohd Sadiq (14) and his friend Mohd Aman (13) — were found dumped in forests some 25 away from Meerut on Sunday, reported Times of India. The victims are students of class 9 and 7, and were found with “multiple cuts and bruises on them”. According to the police this indicates that the victims were “surrounded, thrashed and brutally hacked with sharp weapons”. The children were driving an e-rickshaw to help supplement the family income. According to police, the vehicle is missing, along with Sadiq’s phone. Police, however, told the media that the gruesome nature of the crime indicates that mere theft may not be the motivation. The police added that they did not have any leads in the case yet. Police told TOI that there were no signs of sexual abuse reported yet, and that the investigatons were on and an FIR was filed under various sections of the IPC, including murder, against unknown people.The children’s families had reported them missing a day before their bodies were found. Sadiq’s father Jaane Alam, a motor pump repairman told the media that he last spoke to his son “on Saturday evening when he and Aman had taken an e-rickshaw owned by Sadiq’s elder brother to drop a passenger to a nearby stop.” The father recalled that the child’s phone was switched off after that call.

Madhya Pradesh: Adivasi man dies, after he was thrashed, dragged behind truck

Kanhaiyalal Bheel, a 40-year-old tribal man was allegedly thrashed by eight men then tied to the back of a vehicle and dragged him on the road. He succumbed to his injuries, soon after this barbaric act was reported from Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh on August 26. He died a day later. It was only after massive outrage, when the video went viral on social media, that the local police reportedly swung into action and arrested seven of the accused. Neemuch district Superintendent of Police Suraj Kumar Verma told the media that action was initiated “after a video of the incident became viral,” adding that “by then, the accused had fled. The victim was rushed to the district hospital where he died on Friday.” 

सिंगोली में कान्हा भील की हत्या के प्रकरण में 5 हजार रुपये का इनामी आरोपी सत्तू उर्फ सत्यनायण पिता किशना गुर्जर निवासी ग्राम पाटन थाना सिंगोली गिरफ्तार, प्रकरण में अब तक 7 आरोपी गिरफ्तार @CMMadhyaPradesh @DGP_MP @drnarottammisra @DIG_RATLAM_MP @JansamparkMP @collectornemuch

— S.P.Neemuch (M.P.) (@SPNEEMUCH) August 31, 2021

According to the police, the main accused, Chhitar Mal Gurjar, a milkman, was riding a motorcycle that had hit Kanhaiyalal Bheel. SP Verma told the media that Gurjar was angry as his milk was spilled on the road and wasted. Gurjar then proceeded to accuse the tribal man of “stealing from him”. Gurjar called up his friends and the mob proceeded to thrash Kanhaiyalal Bheel together, tied him to the vehicle,and dragged him on the road. 

Uttar Pradesh: Mathura Muslim dosa maker attacked, more attacks feared

Hindutva mobs attacked Irfan, a Muslim dosa seller in Mathura, eventualy forcing him to rename his stall ‘American Corner’ from ‘Shrinath Dosa Corner’. The mob vandalised his stall, tore down the name board, and threated the dosa seller, attacking him for being a Muslim and not givin his stall a ‘Muslim name’. The mobs called for people to come and “purify” Mathura. The incident took place on August 18 at Vikas Bazar under Kotwali Police Station area, the video went viral on social media. According to media reports, police registered a case under section 427 (mischief causing damage) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code against unknown people, adding that the main accused however has been identified.

Varun Kumar, circle officer (CO), Mathura (City) was quoted by The Wire as saying, “We have identified the culprits and will arrest them as soon as we can.”  According to news reports, Devraj Pandit (Prakash Sharma) a Hindutva ‘activist’, had claimed ‘credit’ for the attack by posting a video of the incident on his Facebook page. He continues to post videos on the page as he is yet to be arrested. He says all he needs “is the support of Sanatan brothers and the police administration”.

Jharkhand: Muslim man alleges cops forced him to have sex with co-accused inside station

A shocking incident was reported by Maktoobmedia of two Muslim residents of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, accusing  the local police “of brutally beating and sexually assaulting them in a station premises”. The men identified as Mohammad Aurangzeb and Mohammad Arzoo, have in their written complaint to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), accused “seven policemen including Kadma police station in-charge, Inspector Harshvadhan and Nitish Thakur of custodial physical torture and sexual coercion,” stated the news report.

Aurangzeb and Arzoo said that they were called to Kadma police station on August 26, in connection with a case of a young woman from Kadma who ran away with a youth from Dhatkidih. He told the reporter that he was kept “seated till 4 o’clock in the afternoon. And for the next five hours continuously, I was brutally beaten up by the policemen.” The cops allegedly abused them with anti Muslim slurs such as, “Tum mulle Talibani ho ye hindustan hai tum sab Afghanistan chale jao (you Muslims are Talibani, this is India and all of you should go to Afghanistan)”. Aurangazeb allaged that he was “forced to have unnatural sex with my friend, an accused in the case. On refusal to be involved in the sexual course, I was beaten up with a cricket wicket laced with excrement. Urine and excrement were also thrown on me.”

Madhya Pradesh: Muslim man forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’

Two persons have reportedly been arrested for terrorising a Muslim scrap dealer into chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’  in Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh’s. The videos of the incident were reported on Saturday. Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP), Mahidpur, told the media that on Saturday the scrap dealer identified as Abdul Rasheed, went to Sikli village under Jharda police station area to collect some scrap in his mini truck, but he “was forced to leave the village and also threatened against doing his scrap business in the area. When he left the village, two men intercepted him at Pipliya Dhuma, manhandled him and forced him to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The man somehow got out of there after giving in to their demand, he said.” The Indian Express reported that Jharda police station in-charge Vikram Singh Ivne confirmed “that an offence was registered against the two accused, identified as Kamal Singh (22) and Ishwar Singh (27), for disturbing communal harmony, and they were arrested.” The accused were “booked under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 505 (2) (public mischief), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), among others.”

Madhya Pradesh: Muslim street vendor asked for Aadhaar, thrashed for not carrying it

A a 45-year-old Muslim man was thrashed for not carrying his Aadhaar card in Dewas last Thursday, reported India Today. The Victim, Zahid, is a labourer who works a second job as a biscuit seller who travels from village to village to sell his wares. According to the news report, he was on his way back after selling biscuits at Borli village under the Hatpipalia police station jurisdiction, when he was accosted by two men who asked him to show them his Aadhaar card. The accused thrashed Zahid who said he was not carrying his Aadhaar card at the time. According to the report. Zahid told the police that he recognised his assailants. He said, “Both are residents of Borli village and I have seen them in the village in the past, I recognise them from their faces and they have warned me not to enter the village again.”

Meanwhile, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Cabinet Minister of Minority Affairs has been busy with events such as “Mera Watan, Mera Chaman” a mushaira organised a few days ago in Delhi as a part of “Amrit Mahotsav” the brand name the government has given to celebrations of 75 years of India’s Independence. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said such events strengthen the fabric of “Unity in Diversity” and India’s “culture of civility and etiquette”. Most recently he has been lauding UP CM Adityanath for his events as well.

श्री @myogiadityanath सरकार का समावेशी विकास, सर्वस्पर्शी सशक्तिकरण ? pic.twitter.com/bj3LFPzJTR

— Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (@naqvimukhtar) September 1, 2021

Related:

Serial hate crimes against Muslims spiral, first MP, now Rajasthan

Kanpur: Three men arrested on Thursday for assaulting Muslim man, get bail on Friday

A pyramid of hate being built to score a poll win in UP?

Anti-Muslim hate speech at Delhi rally calls for communal violence

The post Why is the Govt of India silent on the spurt of attacks on Muslims, Adivasis? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In a shocking incident that took place on May 16, 20 Adivasis from Anjebeda village were allegedly mercilessly beaten by members of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The incident took place in the West Singhbhum region when CRPF personnel reached the village looking for Naxals.

“Some people were helping a fellow villager raise the roof of his hut when the CRPF landed there, demanding answers about Naxals. The Adivasis, who don’t quite understand Hindi, were unable to give them what they thought would be a satisfactory response. So, they beat up the villagers,” informs Shiraj Dutta, member of the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM).

According to Dutta, a total of 20 Adivasis were beaten up brutally by the CRPF personnel. Out of these, 7 villagers sustained serious injuries like fractures. The matter was first brought to light when the JJM tweeted pictures of some of the injured Adivasis on July 17.

Yesterday noon, armed CRPF mercilessly beat 20 people of West Singhhum’s Anjebeda village. They were helping a neighbour repair his hut when the security forces came & started beating them. 7 have sustained serious injuries and one of them fractured a leg. @HemantSorenJMM 1/n pic.twitter.com/11BoATE9fk

— Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (@JharkhandJanad1) June 17, 2020

However, the ordeal of the villagers was far from over. The local police station, allegedly refused to file an FIR, and then the administration allegedly used their influence on the local media to make it look like it was Naxals who had been behind the attack and had injured the villagers.

Yesterday noon, armed CRPF mercilessly beat 20 people of West Singhhum’s Anjebeda village. They were helping a neighbour repair his hut when the security forces came & started beating them. 7 have sustained serious injuries and one of them fractured a leg. @HemantSorenJMM 1/n pic.twitter.com/11BoATE9fk

— Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (@JharkhandJanad1) June 17, 2020

Meanwhile, the Chaibasa police responded by claiming, “A case has been registered at the Goilkera thana based on the statement of a victim. The victims have been admitted to Chaibasa Sadar Hospital for further treatment.”

महाशय
इस संबंध में मामले को संज्ञान में लेकर पीड़ित व्यक्ति के बयान के आधार पर गोइलकेरा थाना में कांड दर्ज कर अनुसंधान प्रारंभ किया गया है। दोषियों के विरुद्ध निश्चित रूप से कार्यवाही होगी। ..1/2 https://t.co/9lClHQrEvP

— Chaibasa Police (@ChaibasaPolice) June 17, 2020

Dutta informs, “When the CRPF men had attacked the villagers, they also destroyed property of the man who was repairing his hut. They also seized his Aadhar card and even took away some of the money he had raised by selling livestock. All this while, people are being pressured not to file a case. Even though police say a case has been filed, they have not given the villagers a copy of the FIR.” Therefore, this morning they submitted a written complaint to the Chaibasa Superintendent of Police. The JJM once again tweeted a copy of the letter written in Hindi on the Gram Panchayat’s official letterhead.

Anjedbeda Gram Sabha has written to SP Chaibasa with details of the incident & demanded compensation and action against perpetrators. They clearly say that CRPF personnel mercilessly beat the villagers and looted land documents, Aadhaar and money from one of the victims. 1/n https://t.co/Jr96gkWtXa pic.twitter.com/NACAgf2wS2

— Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (@JharkhandJanad1) June 19, 2020

Finally, the Jharkhand Police was forced to take note of the matter and directed the SP to take necessary action.

Anjedbeda Gram Sabha has written to SP Chaibasa with details of the incident & demanded compensation and action against perpetrators. They clearly say that CRPF personnel mercilessly beat the villagers and looted land documents, Aadhaar and money from one of the victims. 1/n https://t.co/Jr96gkWtXa pic.twitter.com/NACAgf2wS2

— Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (@JharkhandJanad1) June 19, 2020

Related:

Black clouds over Saranda: Centre set to open up 43000 ha of Jharkhand’s forests for mining

Who ate our foodgrains? Ration cardholders of Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum ask govt

The post CRPF personnel allegedly assault Adivasi villagers in Jharkhand appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Taking cognisance of the issue, the Alirajpur police on Thursday registered a case against the four persons and arrested one. “We’ve booked four men identified to be involved in the incident under Sections 341, 342, 323 and 34 of the IPC and one of the accused has been arrested,” said Alirajpur superintendent of police, Vipul Srivastava.

Alirajpur is a tribal-dominated district with 75 % tribal population is one of the most backward districts of the country, according to the various government and media reports. Situated in Western Madhya Pradesh, Alirajpur is 410 km away from the state capital and share its borders with Gujarat.

The Incident
The incident was reported on June 16 in Mind village under Ambua police station area of Alirajpur district. However, the matter came to light on Wednesday after a video and photos of the ‘kangaroo justice’ went viral on social media.

As per report, the kangaroo court raised its ugly head at Khud village when a village girl was spotted with a boy from the neighbouring Indersingh ki Chowki village. Annoyed over their relationship, the girl’s cousin, nephew and other villagers accosted the couple and tied them to separate poles meant for tying animals.

The alleged barbarity continued for around two hours, during which the couple was subjected to abuse, slapping, thrashing and flogging with wooden sticks. All this took place in full public glare with at least four men beating the duo and pulling the girl’s hair before villagers, who were reportedly smiling and filming the atrocities, instead of informing the police. The girl’s family and other residents of Kund village subsequently are said to have called the boy’s family seeking a compromise.

Subsequently, the tribal elders made the two families reach a compromise, with the boy’s family agreeing on paper to pay Rs 90,000 and provide two male goats as ‘love penalty’, to pave the passage for their wedlock. Half of the sum and one goat was to go to the girl’s family, as per reports.

With the girl and her family not willing to lodge a complaint in the matter, it was the Ambua police station officers who took cognisance and registered a case against the accused on Thursday.

The police also claimed to have recovered a paper on which the boy’s family agreed to pay its 90,000 and two goats to the tribal elders of Kund village as  a ‘compromise’.

Past Wild Diktats
This is not the only case where a tribal panchayat has given such a diktat. On April 13, 2019, a patliya tribe woman was forced to parade around her village with her husband on her shoulders amid drumbeats and teasing sounds from villagers as punishment from her clan for allegedly eloping with a Bhil tribal man in Jhabua district.

On January 2015, a 25-year-old married woman was forced to breastfeed her lover (with whom she had eloped) on the diktat of a Bhil tribal panchayat in Alirajpur district.

In October 2013, 20 tribal men were arrested for allegedly stripping a married woman and her lover and forcing them to parade through the village amid drumbeats for allegedly eloping a few days earlier in Dhar district of West MP.

First published in Newsclick.

The post Tribal Couple Tied to Pole, Flogged by Kangaroo Court in MP’s Alirajpur appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Sukalo Gond, the treasurer of AIUFWP, along with Kisamati Gond and Sukhdev Gond were arrested in a clandestine manner from Chopan station, Sonbhadra, UP just as they were returning after a meeting with the state forest minister, Dara Singh Chauhan and Forest Secretary in Lucknow on June 6. Sukhdev Gond is resident of village Lilasi and was first beaten up by SO SP Singh Muirpur. Kismati Gond is the new secretary of Forest rights committee, she too was badly beaten up by police The police had entered homes and reportedly assaulted Adivasi women and children on May 19 when Sukalo was in Lucknow at a training workshop.

 
Roma, the General Secretary of AIUFWP informed CJP that after 12 pm yesterday, June 8 she lost touch with Sukalo, only to read this morning of her sudden and unwarranted arrest. Roma further conveyed the fact Sukalo’s family members were worried about her safety as she was not in touch with the family for the past few days.
 

CJP appeals to its members to call the DGP, Uttar Pradesh, Om Prakash Singh at 0522-2206104, SP, Sonbhadra at 9454400304, DM, Sonbhadra, Amit Kumar Singh at 9454417569, Forest Minister Dara Singh Chauhanat  09455073877 and demand that the Adivasi human rights defenders, Sukalo, Kisamati and Sukhdev are released. CJP has been closely following how Adivasi women of Sonbhadra are being systematically bullied and harassed. Many of them face fake cases filed on false or trumped up charges. We are fighting for the human rights defenders in court, and also intervening in everyday episodes of institutional violence in the area. Please donate generously to support these efforts.

Sukalo, a human rights defender and woman Adivasi leader has been at the helm of protests. Her profile may be read here.

Following this surreptitious crack down, it is also believed that more villagers are facing the threat of indiscriminate arrests. These actions are getting more frequent on villagers after the people from 16 Gram Sabhas filed community resource rights claim on March 23, 2018.
Sukalo and two others have allegedly been booked under Sections such as 147,148,149, 307, 343, 333, 504, 353, 332, 336, 427, 120b of IPC, Section 7 of Criminal Act,3/5 public property Act, 5/26 Indian Forest Act. Around 24 people have been named in which Ashok Choudhary and Roma are also named as accused. And around 35 people are unnamed in the criminal complaint.

The local media is reportedly giving a one sided version, not presenting the villagers’ version at all. Some local newspapers have gone to the extent of saying that Sukalo and others were underground, which is untrue since they had just returned after a meeting with the authorities in Lucknow.

CJP has a complete update of the meeting between the leadership of the AIUFWP and the Forest Minister and Secretary.

Meanwhile, in a significant breakthrough, the NHRC assured action against the incident of police brutality that took place in Lilasi village on AIUFWP and CJP’s intervention. Roma met chairperson, NHRC on May 30 in New Delhi after CJP facilitated the complaint and appointment.

Forest Minister assures Investigation in case of Police Brutality against Adivasis in Sonbhadra
On Wednesday, June 6, members of the Forest Rights Committee (FRC) established under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, Roma Malik, Sukalo Gond, Nandu Gond and FRC Secretary Kismati Gond met with the minister of the Uttar Pradesh government’s Forest Department, Dara Singh Chauhan and Secretary of the Forests and Wildlife Department of the state.

“The Forest Minister took the matter very seriously and heard the issues of the villagers with keen interest. He has assured a thorough investigation in the entire episode. He has also asked his Principal Secretary to look into the issue. He may make a visit to the area sometime in June” said Roma after the meeting.  The team sent a letter to the Secretary of the government’s Social Welfare Department and now plan to send letter to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Following the meetings with high level functionaries,  Roma informed CJP that they also submitted a copy of the community rights claim that was filed on March 23 at the local level to establish the motive behind the local administration’s animus and nexus with vested interests trying to prevent rightful claim over land. Further they also gave the medical report of Kismati’s injury; she was wounded after being attacked by police personnel on May 22. Meanwhile, the SDM also assured the Union leadership that he would look into the community land claims filed in the 16 Gram Sabhas by the villagers with the help of All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP).

Roma said the activists questioned why the claims they have filed have been met with episodes of reprisal violence when, in fact, claims should have been assessed dispassionately. The AIUFWP has alleged that their lands have been captured by upper caste people, and Roma said that the minister has summoned a list of these people allegedly blocking the legitimate claims of Adivasis so that the matter could be investigated.

A letter addressed to the Forest Minister, signed by Nandu Gond and Kismati Gond, detailed the events of Friday, May 18, and Tuesday, May 22, in which Adivasis were arrested and, days later, attacked by the police. The letter explained that on May 18, police accused ten Adivasi women of cutting trees, and noted that they were only released following the intervention of the CJP team who made calls to the administration and police. Thereafter, on May 22, in Lilasi village, police barged into the home of Forest Rights Committee Secretary Kismati Gond and attacked her; she sustained a wound to the head. They also assaulted several other village residents, and harassed two teenage girls. Threats from the police have rendered the Adivasis afraid to remain in their homes, and also unable to speak their truth, the letter stated.

Copy of the letter
The letter has recorded that there were multiple political reasons for these incidents, highlighting that on March 23, community forest resources claims were filed by the people of 16 villages. These claims were over approximately 250 acres of land under the FRA 2006. The letter alleged, “Fifteen years ago, the Forest Department dispossessed the Adivasis of the land that their ancestors had tilled and cultivated under Section 20 of the draconian Indian Forest Act, 1927.” Though the claims were filed by the Adivasis, demarcation of the land in question wasn’t done, nor were officers appointed as mandated by the FRA, 2006. In fact, the land from which the Adivasis were dispossessed was used to build houses by people belonging to dominant and upper castes. The land records were fudged with the complicity of the police. The Adivasis believe, as also indicated in the letter that their efforts towards fighting this usurpation of land, spurred the powerful among the upper castes to perceive a threat against their illegal land-grab and construction, prompting the false allegations of cutting trees against the Adivasi women.

It is these set of factors that have mired local Adivasis into a new set of fabricated cases.

In fact, in the latest round of such cases, involving the violence in Lilasi village, Roma and Ashok Choudhary, who were not even present at the time of incident, have been implicated with serious offences such as Section 307 of IPC, attempt to murder! CJP believes that this is a clearcut attempt to target an organization that has cemented the united struggle of the Adivasis of Sonbhadra.
 
Major demands of the Adivasi community:

• that a complete assessment of the forest land should be done for the village Lilasi and the information on illegal land capture should be made available.
• That there should be a high level inquiry of the assault on the Adivasi women in Lilasi.
• That the false FIRs on villagers should be quashed and the responsible Forest officers should be prosecuted for not following procedures under Section 7 of FRA and FIRs should be initiated on them under Section 3 (1)(G) of SC/ST PoA Act, 1989.
• That the villagers should be returned their lands as claimed by them through collective claims that they filed on March 23.

Related Articles:

CJP in Action: Defending Adivasi Human Rights Activists in Courts

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The press meet addressed by NSS leaders – Dodi Pusika, activists Jagili Pusika, Kuni Sikaka, Dama Pushika, Dasuru’s mother Sitari Kadraka, Saiba’s sister Palenge Pusika and others.

On the May 1, the police raided village Gorata at midnight and abducted 20-year-old Kuni Sikkaka, who happens to be the daughter in law of Dodi Pushika, the village headman as well as a highly respected leader of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti. Dasuru Kadraka (Village – Gorata, PS – Muniguda District – Rayagada) has been languishing in jail for more than a year now charged with several false cases. Saiba Pushika, a 17-year-old boy, also from Gorata village was similarly picked up from the market in February 2017, tortured and is now imprisoned in the Berhampur juvenile jail. In February 2016, Manda Kadraka, from village Dangamati, again a Dongria Kondh PVTG settlement, was shot dead by CRPF soldiers and was presented to the media as hardcore Maoist from Chattisgarh.

The statement states that:
“This is to bring to your attention that the Adivasi-Dalit members of the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti have been made a victim of a conspiracy between the Govt. and mining company Vedanta. We are being constantly intimidated and pressurized to succumb to the private company’s machinations, and the Police has been made an instrument to suppress us.

“We have been spearheading a movement to safeguard our life, livelihood and environment under the banner of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti for more than 12 years. We have opposed the mining of our sacred mountain, Niyam Dongar and the construction of the refinery by forcefully grabbing land. The sacred mountain Niyam Dongar is our tribe’s God and worshipped by millions of people. Our opposition and petitions to the apex environmental court, the National Green Tribunal, led to several investigative commissions as well as a historic referendum in the year 2013 as per the Supreme Court of India’s directives, where 12 villages in the Niyamgiri hills held Gram Sabhas that unanimously rejected the mining proposal. The Gram Sabha’s decision was further validated by the Supreme Court in its final verdict on the matter, mining has been banned in the Niyamgiri hills.

“Despite the Supreme Court’s decision, the company and State Govt. have colluded to intimidate the same people who had earlier unanimously rejected the mining proposal. As a result many of our people are being branded as Left Wing Extremists and members of the CPI-Maoist, which is a blatant falsehood. Vested interests supporting the company in the ruling party have influenced the local police to frame us and our organization, Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, as a CPI-Maoist front. This has led to random detention, torture and incarceration of our people. Being members of a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, the Dongria Kondh, the people of Niyamgiri are guaranteed the highest form of protection by the Govt., but instead we are seeing even minors are not being spared from this heinous conspiracy.

“Dasuru Kadraka (Village – Gorata, PS – Muniguda District – Rayagada) has been languishing in jail for more than a year now charged with several false cases. He was the sole breadwinner of his family comprising of three small children, wife and an old mother. He was picked up from the Muniguda town market in March 2016 and later presented to the media as a hardened Maoist guerilla, which is a complete lie. He has been made to undergo extreme third degree physical torture as well as being subjected to electric shocks in custody.

“Saiba Pushika, a 17-year-old boy, also from Gorata village was similarly picked up from the market in February 2017, tortured and is now imprisoned in the Berhampur juvenile jail.

“On the May 1, the police raided village Gorata at midnight and abducted 20-year-old Kuni Sikkaka, who happens to be the daughter in law of Dodi Pushika, the village headman as well as a highly respected leader of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti. Later when Kuni’s family went to secure the release of Kuni Sikkaka, all of them were blackmailed by the SP and DIG to sign statements that they are surrendered Maoists. They were also forced to make false statements in front of the media. When they protested and told the truth to the media, the police manhandled and muffled them.

“We have already seen how a young student Manda Kadraka, from village Dangamati, again a Dongria Kondh PVTG settlement, was shot dead in February 2016 by CRPF soldiers and was presented to the media as hardcore Maoist from Chattisgarh. Only when pictures of his dead body published in the media reached his teachers it was revealed that they had killed the boy in a fake encounter and then tried to cover up by presenting him as a Maoist cadre from Chattisgarh. Drika Kadraka of Dhamanpanga village (PS – Muniguda) committed suicide in 2015 after he was tortured and threatened by the Police.

“This never-ending assault by the Odisha Govt and state’s  plice at the behest of the mining company Vedanta has destroyed the lives of many Adivasi Dalit people in Niyamgiri, where we no longer live fearlessly as we have for centuries in our homeland. Our life and livelihood has been disrupted by this concerted campaign to drive us away from our sacred ancestral land so that the mining company can take over. Today, we cannot go to the markets to sell our produce as the Police randomly picks our people and then slaps all sorts of cases against them, tortures them to make fake submissions, and then they languish in jail.

“While we were travelling to Bhubaneswar on the June 4 to submit this petition to the NCST, our Adivasi friends from nearby villages who were accompanying us were intimidated by the Muniguda Police Station and they had to turn back. Earlier the Muniguda police intimidated those who tried to help us in writing and lodging FIRs against the Police for abduction of Kuni Sikkaka, and other cases. The Police has also threatened us for going to Berhampur city to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister via the RDC.

“Is Niyamgiri an occupied territory where democracy and Indian constitution have ceased to exist? Are the Adivasi people of Niyamgiri prisoners of Odisha police who cannot even step out of the area? Why is the Muniguda police not allowing the people to have access to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and the other legal recourses available to us? Is it a crime to raise matters of injustice?

“Instead of providing health facilities that can stop dozens of our tribe members dying from epidemics every year or education in Mother Tongue, the sole purpose of the Govt. in our area is to terrorize us.

“Therefore, we have demanded an inquiry by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to investigate the matter, punish the culprits responsible for terrorizing us, direct the Govt. to free our people languishing in jail as well as take measures to protect us from such political violence.

“We have also urged the NCST to look into the reasons why several resolutions and demands made during the 2013 Gram Sabhas have not been accepted. We demand that the entire Niyamgiri hills be rightfully declared as Dongria Kondh habitat area as per the Forest Rights Act 2006. We would also like the Govt to recognize the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti as per the Forest Rights Act as the official organization that is protecting Niyamgiri forest. Unless such action is taken, we fear the already marginalized population of around 8,000 Dongria Kondh people living in Niyamgiri, will get wiped out totally as a tribe.

“We would also like to emphasise that this conspiracy by the Govt and Vedanta has also endangered the lives of our leaders like Dodi Pushika (Village – Gorata), and Lado Sikakka (Village – Lakhpadar), who were also petitioners in the case against Vedanta. We have demanded that the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes should advise the concerned authorities to safeguard the life of our leaders.

“Today on June 5 when the whole world is observing World Environment Day, we the people engaged in protecting the environment are facing intimidation, torture, abduction, and wrongful incarceration by our Govt. itself. Even then Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti will continue to campaign for the protection of the Niyamgiri hills that are home to hundreds of endangered flora and fauna species, as well as the source of rivers Vansadhara and Nagabali that sustain life for hundreds of square kilometers in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The Govt. needs to function like a democracy, we are fighting peacefully and using legal measures for our Constitutional rights. The Govt. has to stop this witch hunting of Adivasi Dalit leaders who are opposed to the nexus between the Govt and Vedanta.

English Translation of Press note and picture courtesy – Surya Dash. 

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