By IANS,
Raipur : Tribals in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district have alleged that security forces burnt their huts, stole money and sexually assaulted women during anti-Maoist operations, but state police Wednesday dismissed this as “Maoist propaganda”.
Eyewitnesses quoted in media reports have that Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers along with Koya commandos, a unit of local tribals fighting the Maoists, went on a rampage in three tribal hamlets near Tarmetla area where the outlawed rebels had slaughtered 76 troopers in April last year in their most audacious attack till date.
The tribals of tehse hamlets allege that in the name of searching for Maoists and their sympathisers, the troopers assaulted women, killed livestock and burnt nearly 200 houses over three-four days. Many were allegedly illegally detained and some people are still unaccounted for.
Rights activists have strongly condemned the brutalities of security forces and termed these as barbaric.
“We are trying to get the facts on whatever has appeared in media. It should be condemned strongly. The state can’t be violator of constitutional rights. On first hand, it (alleged police excesses) looks very barbaric,” remarked Rajendra K. Sail, former president of the Chhattisgarh unit of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).
A local official employed with the education department at Chintagufa, just a few km away from Morepalli, Teemapur and Tarmetla villages where tribals were allegedly subjected to brutalities by CRPF troopers, termed the situation in the area as “very alarming”.
The tribals were fearing more atrocities for not cooperating with the security forces and police against Maoists, they said.
“Police are not allowing anyone to go near Tarmetla. It is virtually sealed off. The locals are not allowed to move out of their villages to narrate their tragic story and outsiders are being put under a lengthy interrogation,” added a source, who made a strong request not to be named.
However, Dantewada police chief S.R.P. Kalluri vehemently denied the charges.
“It’s all Maoist propaganda, nothing happened there. I have not received any compliant of police brutalities that you are talking about,” Kalluri told IANS over phone from Dantewada town.
Tarmetla is about 500 km from the state capital Raipur.
Information is hard to come by from the area, which is thickly forested and inaccessible.
Dantewada district collector R. Prasanna told IANS, “I have not received complaint of any police brutalities but will order a probe to verify the complaints that have appeared in media referring some villagers.
“Administration will pay compensation to the victims if reports of burning of houses and other complaints are found true,” he added.
Dantewada is part of state’s 40,000 sq km southern tip called Bastar region where the Maoists have had a monopoly since late 1980s.