Ground report from Red Zone: Is Chhattisgarh becoming a police state?
In Maoist-affected areas of Chhattisgarh, it is the doctors and journalists who are bearing the brunt of the police forces.
On Rajdeep Sardesai's show NewsToday, lawyer and social activist Teesta Setalvad and PK Mishra, former ADG, BSF, concurred with each other on gross human rights violations in Chief Minister Raman Singh's Chhattishgarh.
In Maoist-affected areas of Chhattisgarh, it is the doctors and journalists who are bearing the brunt of the police forces.
Speaking on police atrocity, Teesta Setalvad said, "We have thee-four issues which are very critical to democracy. Your (India Today Television) bureau suggested that Bastar, just like the entire Red corridor, is a conflict zone. The former prime minister said so and it is well acknowledged that it is a conflict zone. Now the question is in a conflict zone do we need witnesses? Do we need persons who are journalists to fairly reports all sides of the conflicts. Do we need lawyers and human rights activists to actually raise issues of the ordinary people living there? Or we do just accept blindly a state version? If we believe there is democracy, which we believe we are, we need to ask why after the bringing in of IG of Bastar, K Sivarama Prasad Kalluri (in 2014-2015), suddenly this repression has increased? Here is a senior police officer who openly challenges anybody from "outside" to come and work in Bastar. Now, we are a democarcy, we have Article 21 and 14 and we are people who are allowed to live and work there yet there is a government which is working undemocratically...I am really shocked at the attacks on journalists in Bastar. Are we going to tolerate a situation where journalists are going to be openely threatened by the police and then we accept the police version to say, "Are these journalists also reporting the Maoist's version? Are we going to have no independent witnesses in Bastar or in the Red corridor?"
On being questioned about the role of the police force which is allegedly muzzling of the voice of the people in Chhattishgarh, PK Mishra said the police and paramilitary forces should operate in the maoist-affected area under the Constitution.
Acknowledging, the way journalists Somaru Nag and Santosh Yadav were picked up from Jagdalpur area was a mistake on part of the police forces, Mishra said,"You can't stop the journalsits to go there (Chhattishgarh) or even the doctor, the social activities to go there... We can't accept the one version-that is the state's version. The ground reality will come out if social activities are there, if the lawyers are there, if the journalists are there. But the way Santosh Yadav and Somaru Nag were picked up, I have my doubt. If the police want to be very clear in their operation, they have to allow others to go inside and it has to be very open operation.
The victims
Malini Subramaniam:
In February 2016, Scroll reporter Malini Subramaniam was asked to quit Chhattishgarh for her report on human rights violations in the state. Malini was living in Jagdalpur for past three years. Her landlord asked her to vacate her rented room after anti-Maoist groups, that enjoy the support of the Chattishgarh Police, labelled her as a Maoist supporter. Several journalists like Malini have been jailed in Chattisgarh on flimsy grounds.
Dr Saibal Jana:
Dr Saibal Jana, chief physician of Dalli-Rajhara's Shaheed Hospital, was arrested by the Chhattisgarh Police on March 18 for allegedly "absconding" in a case that was registered in 1992. He had to spend more than a week in jail for an incident that took place 24 years ago. Dr Jana was falsely implicated in the case while his involvement was only limited to giving medical attention to (injured) people.
Isha Khandelwal and Shalini Ghera:
Isha Khandelwal and Shalini Ghera are providing free legal assistance to adivasi villagers since July 2013 (through their organisation Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group or JagLAG). Isha and Shalini were being targeted for reporting on sexual violence and extrajudicial killings by the police force. Their landlord was forced to evict them from their office.
Somaru Nag and Santosh Yadav:
Journalists Somaru Nag and Santosh Yadav have been held since July and September 2015, respectively, in connection with their work.
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