Thousands of villagers from Sukma district of South Chhattisgarh on Monday surrounded the Tongpal town police station, demanding the release of a tribal arrested on murder charges.
The protesters, armed with bow and arrow, blocked traffic the national highway, resulting in a long pile-up.
“They are demanding the release of Hadma, a tribal man from Kolamkottapara village under the Hamirgarh panchayat. Maoists had killed Anil Thakur from this village a few months ago and Hadma was present with the Maoists during the murder,” Sub Inspector (PSI) Shishupal Sinha of told The Hindu .
According to another officer posted in Tongpal police station, the tribals were not even listening to local politicians.
“A majority of them are armed. We are not able to speak to them as they are speaking Gondi. We are trying to send them back peacefully. We will have to use force if they don’t relent, because there are long lines of vehicles on the national highway,” an officer said.
However, Hamirgarh sarapanch Kawasi Hidma accused the police of wrongly implicating Hadma in the murder.
“Anil Thakur was abducted by Maoists, who later threw his body in Kolamkottapara village. No villager was involved in the act. On the morning of February 13, police detained 10 persons from the village. They released nine of them, but detained Hadma and slapped criminal charges against him. He is innocent,” claimed Hidma.
