A constable was shot dead today and a special police officer was allegedly abducted by the Naxals in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, an official said. A Maoist was also killed in retaliatory fire at a Salwa Judum camp in Cherpal village in the wee hours, he said.
Tough crackdown on terror in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, activities of anti-Naxal force Salwa Judum and anti-Christian riots have been listed by Amnesty international among others as alleged human rights issues facing the country.
Activists Arundhati Roy and Himanshu Kumar slam a newspaper report that Lingaram Kodopi, a tribal from Dantewada, is the mastermind behind last week's Maoist attacks in Bastar.
More than Congress legislator Karma's loss, it's the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Bheema Mandavi which surprises many; for, the Communist Party of India's candidate Manish Kunjam's anti-Salwa Judum campaign in Dantewada had made the latter a favourite among the rural masses. Kunjam had seemed a sure winner in case Karma fell from grace
In a virtual disapproval of anti-Naxalite group Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said that the Centre was not in favour of 'non-state actors' taking the job of law enforcement in their hands. "We are not in favour of non-state actors taking law enforcement in their hands," he said during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.
The naxalites claimed that the Rani Bodli incident was an answer to the Salwa Judum (peace campaign) and anti-naxal operation in Bastar region.
Another jawan was injured in the incident. Naxalites shot dead two Salwa Judum leaders Hapka Ayatu and Palli Pandu yesterday in Kader and Kandulnar villages of Bijapur district, police said.
The Communist Party of India - Maoist, which had claimed responsibility for the May 25 attack that left many Chhattisgarh Congress leaders dead, on Thursday denied that the incident had any political link.
Salwa Judum is alleged to be a ruthless outfit that has forcibly brought villagers to camps and has forced them to live the lives of refugees in their own land.
The final rites of late Congress leader and founder of controversial anti-Maoist Salwa Judum movement Mahendra Karma were performed with state honours at his native village in Dantewada district on Monday.
The roots of the problem lies in the alienation of the tribals. Extreme sensitivity is required to tackle the issues involved. Rough and ready methods of using force may prove counterproductive in the long run, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
For Mahendra Karma's wife, the November 11 election is a battle to redeem the legacy of the 'Bastar Tiger' who founded the Salwa Judum and was considered a symbol of the tribals' fight back against Maoists before he was killed along with top Chhattisgarh Congress leaders in May.
From walking up to 10 kms to crossing rivers and spending nights in Naxal-hit areas, the poll officers will have to go past numerous hurdles and face life-threatening challenges to do their duty, but none of them is complaining.
'Sanction serves the salutary object of providing safeguard to the accused from unwarranted prosecution and the agony and trauma of trial, and in the context of the stringent provisions of the UAPA, is an integral facet of due process of law.' If the report to the sanctioning officer for the first five accused in the case lacked the qualities required under the law, then for Professor Saibaba, the sanction came much after his trial had started!
His spine, his heart, his pancreas -- one by one, all his organs have weakened, given the lack of medical treatment in jail, where he is kept in the notorious Anda cell. Continuous pain, frequent fainting spells, urinary problems, have all become part of his life.
Right from his arrest in May 2014, the Nagpur jail authorities have denied Professor Saibaba his basic rights, even flouting court orders in the process.
'Silencing citizens has become a major institutional process under this regime.' 'The anti-Indian argument is a bogey -- meant to silence independent thinking people in India and turn us into goats and sheep.'
'In the history of Maharashtra this is the first case in which all the persons chargesheeted were all convicted under all the sections they were charged with, and sentenced to life.'
BJP CMs promote a lawless culture, one where groups backed by the State are encouraged to attack fellow citizens, where being trigger-happy is the official police policy, notes Jyoti Punwani.
She also alleged that police has been forcing some people to name them in someway since May.
'People accused of mass murder and worse are let out on medical grounds.' 'Saibaba is now 100% handicapped, and has committed no murder, yet he is not allowed to come out.'
Naxal-hit Bastar, which goes to polls on Monday, is witnessing a stiff political battle with Congress going all out to wrest control from BJP of the region widely seen as a deciding factor in winning Chhattisgarh.
'The whole idea is to intimidate lawyers like me and others who are helping the Adivasi women seek justice and file FIRs against the security personnel for raping them.'
Before the situation in the Naxal-affected areas got out of hand, the Raman Singh government intervened to calm tempers between the police and human rights activists.
'In the districts of Jagdalpur and Dantewada, the only time the accused walked out of jail was when they were acquitted. There is no concept of bail.' 'The women were very clear -- they had to fight. Remaining silent any longer was not an option.'
From President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit to Rahul and Varun Gandhi, at least 50 parliamentary constituencies will be contested by 'sons and daughters' of politicians of various parties during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
While the Chhattisgarh police charged the well-known academic with a tribal man's murder, those who know her say it is vendetta at play.
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It's perverse to rationalise 'controlled' killings or torture -- without going down a slippery moral slope. Once the state stoops to torture, it's liable to sink into tyranny, says Praful Bidwai.
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