Activists who visited Maoist-hit Chhattisgarh arrested under security act
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Updated: Dec 26, 2016 16:56 IST
By Ritesh Mishra and S Kareemuddin, Hindustan Times, Raipur/Bastar
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According to the Sukma superintendent of police, the accused were found with old currency notes and some important Naxal related documents. (HT file)
Updated: Dec 26, 2016 16:56 IST
By Ritesh Mishra and S Kareemuddin, Hindustan Times, Raipur/Bastar
Police in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar arrested on Monday a group of civil society members, including lawyers, journalists and students , who had gone to the region to probe alleged atrocities on locals in Maoist areas.
The police booked the activists under the draconian Chhattisgarh Public Security Act. They were detained at around 9:30 am in Dummagudem in Telangana and later handed over to Chhattisgarh police.
Police sources said those booked included advocates Chikud Prabhakar and Bala Ravinder, journalist B Durgaprasad, tribal rights activist R Lakshmanaiah and two students.
Chikud Prabhakar is human rights lawyer and member secretary of Telananga Public Front.
“The accused were found with old currency notes and some important Naxal related documents. They were arrested and booked and were produced in court,” said Indira Kalyan Elesela, SP of Sukma said.
The accused were on a fact-finding mission related to encounters and alleged atrocities in Maoist-hit areas of Telangana and Chhattisgarh.
Bastar is among the regions worst-affected by Maoist insurgency. Both the rebels and the police face accusations of rights abuses. Access to interiors of Bastar is largely controlled either by the police and its sponsored local vigilante groups or the Maoists.
The Chhattisgarh Police have been extremely touchy about the foray of civil rights activists into the Maoist-hit regions where allegations of rights abuse are aplenty.
In Bastar, journalists too have been at the receiving end for what activists say are persistent attempts by police to intimidate the media. Four local journalists have been arrested since last year. A visiting BBC newsman was forced to leave the district. Another was forced to flee the region after being accused of having Maoist links.
Early last month, the Chhattisgarh Policeregistered a murder case against Nandini Sundar, a Delhi University professor and others in Sukma on the complaint of the wife of a tribal who was killed on 4 November in Chhattisgarh.
Sundar rubbished the allegations of the police, even as a number of civil rights bodies called the charges a tactic of “revenge and harassment”.
Sundar has been working extensively in Maoist-hit regions like Bastar. On her petition, the Supreme Court had banned the state-backed anti-Maoist force Salwa Judum, calling it unconstitutional. She has also been highlighting situation of ordinary villagers in Bastar and other areas.
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Updated: Dec 26, 2016 16:56 IST
By Ritesh Mishra and S Kareemuddin, Hindustan Times, Raipur/Bastar
***
According to the Sukma superintendent of police, the accused were found with old currency notes and some important Naxal related documents. (HT file)
Updated: Dec 26, 2016 16:56 IST
By Ritesh Mishra and S Kareemuddin, Hindustan Times, Raipur/Bastar
Police in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar arrested on Monday a group of civil society members, including lawyers, journalists and students , who had gone to the region to probe alleged atrocities on locals in Maoist areas.
The police booked the activists under the draconian Chhattisgarh Public Security Act. They were detained at around 9:30 am in Dummagudem in Telangana and later handed over to Chhattisgarh police.
Police sources said those booked included advocates Chikud Prabhakar and Bala Ravinder, journalist B Durgaprasad, tribal rights activist R Lakshmanaiah and two students.
Chikud Prabhakar is human rights lawyer and member secretary of Telananga Public Front.
“The accused were found with old currency notes and some important Naxal related documents. They were arrested and booked and were produced in court,” said Indira Kalyan Elesela, SP of Sukma said.
The accused were on a fact-finding mission related to encounters and alleged atrocities in Maoist-hit areas of Telangana and Chhattisgarh.
Bastar is among the regions worst-affected by Maoist insurgency. Both the rebels and the police face accusations of rights abuses. Access to interiors of Bastar is largely controlled either by the police and its sponsored local vigilante groups or the Maoists.
The Chhattisgarh Police have been extremely touchy about the foray of civil rights activists into the Maoist-hit regions where allegations of rights abuse are aplenty.
In Bastar, journalists too have been at the receiving end for what activists say are persistent attempts by police to intimidate the media. Four local journalists have been arrested since last year. A visiting BBC newsman was forced to leave the district. Another was forced to flee the region after being accused of having Maoist links.
Early last month, the Chhattisgarh Policeregistered a murder case against Nandini Sundar, a Delhi University professor and others in Sukma on the complaint of the wife of a tribal who was killed on 4 November in Chhattisgarh.
Sundar rubbished the allegations of the police, even as a number of civil rights bodies called the charges a tactic of “revenge and harassment”.
Sundar has been working extensively in Maoist-hit regions like Bastar. On her petition, the Supreme Court had banned the state-backed anti-Maoist force Salwa Judum, calling it unconstitutional. She has also been highlighting situation of ordinary villagers in Bastar and other areas.
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