Residents of nearly 30 villages in the Sukma and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh are protesting the killing of three people by security forces near a new police camp in the Silger sector, requesting a high-level investigation.
Residents, the majority of whom are tribal members, say that security forces opened fire arbitrarily on Monday. According to the police, Naxals were among those who assaulted the Silger camp with gunshots and stones while protesting the camp’s launch.
Three people were killed, and several others were hurt. According to the Indian Express, police have arrested five people, including a minor. The remains of the three people killed, according to the article, have not been found. According to IE, the dead have been identified as protesters Kawasi Wagha, 37, from Chutwai, Korsa Bhima, 32, from Gundam, and Uika Murali, 22, from Timmapuram.
The camp, which houses troops from the CRPF’s 153rd battalion as well as state security forces, opened on May 12, and residents from nearby villages have been protesting since then, demanding its evacuation.
Local residents were protesting not because of Naxals, but because they needed schools and health facilities instead, according to villagers Nandaram Markam and PTI. He said that the protestors had not thrown stones at the police, and that the latter did not need to shoot. “There were no Naxals in the crowd, and many villagers were injured, with several still missing,” he said.
Another local, however, told the Indian Express that when the demonstrators went to present their demands on Monday, they were beaten up by security forces. They had beaten us earlier as well. We became enraged as well, and some of our members threw stones at their cars and the camp. “The security forces first used tear gas grenades, then opened fire, said a Jagargunda Class 12 pupil. Some of the people in the front fell and died. We were again lathi-charged as we attempted to retrieve their remains. As a result, there was a stampede, and some people fell onto each other.
Alok Shukla, convener of the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA), a coalition of activists, said that police opened fire on tribals protesting the camp, and demanded that the incident be investigated by a retired high court judge in a timely manner, with a FIR filed against those found guilty.
He also requested that the deceased be compensated and that the sick be given proper medical care.
Sundarraj P., the Inspector General of Police for the Bastar Range, refuted the accusations, saying that Naxals hidden among the villagers opened fire on security forces.
“Maoists are frustrated with the opening of new camps in their stronghold. After the Silger camp was set up on the border of Sukma and Bijapur districts, they were pressuring local residents to protest against it. The protest had ended on Sunday night but Maoists forced the villagers to return on Monday near the camp,” he said.
According to the Indian Express, the families of the three people killed in the shooting rushed to Silger with some utensils and rations after learning of their loved ones’ deaths.
Four of Kawasi Wagha’s children and their grandfather Mangdu had walked 25 kilometres overnight to return the body to Kawasi Wagha’s family. Our youngest brother is just four years old, and our mother has been sick for months, according to one of the sons. Father had asked me to look after the family when he was away for 2-3 days.
According to the Indian Express, Korsa Bhima’s wife Nande, 17-year-old daughter Jogi, and 3-year-old son Mahesh are also awaiting the body. “My husband left us in the dark about his whereabouts. He’s never coming back. Nande sobbed, “I have a daughter to marry and a son to raise.”
“They killed him for protesting, for asserting his rights to his jal-jungle-jameen, just as it was during the Salwa Judum years,” Uike Murali’s elder brother Bheema said of the third deceased.
