Days after police said 12 Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, the families of some of them alleged that those who were unarmed and rounded up and shot dead were actually tendu leaf pickers. The state security agency has strongly denied these allegations.
Early on Friday, 12 people were killed in Bediya village, 50 km from Bijapur district headquarters. Located deep in the dense forest, the village has no mobile connectivity and one has to cross five police checkposts to get there. The nearest market, Kangaluru, is 30 km away.
According to security forces, six of those killed were militants working as eyes and ears of members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), another six were militants, members of the Revolutionary People’s Committee from the area and one was a militant commander. The total award on them is Rs. 31 lakh, of which Rs.10,000-30,000 for lower-level fighters.
The Indian Express spoke to the families of four alleged militants by the security forces: Sanu Hawlam, Oyam Bhima, Tula Damo and Joga Parse.
According to these families, the men were plucking tendu leaves used to make beedi when the security forces came to their village early in the morning. The family claims that security forces chased them and surrounded them.
Seeing this, the leaf-picking women ran to see what was happening, but turned back. Family members say these women, as well as some of the men who were rounded up with the slain men and released the next day, told them what happened.
Mangu Oyam, Oyam Bhima’s father, said, “The security forces chased them into a corner. One of them stood up and said we are civilians, but he was shot dead. Some were arrested by the police and taken away. It was only when they came back on Saturday that we found out who was killed,” he alleged.
Bhima has a wife and a three-month-old son.
Among the dead is Shanu Hawlam (40), who is survived by his mother, wife and six children. Anyone who arrests Sanu Hawlam will be given Rs. Asked about the 30,000 reward announced, his mother Shukle said, “I am not aware of that.” Also, my son cannot hear or speak.
In the past, the police had taken him in for questioning twice and then released him. “Once, when I intervened, they beat me,” he said. Shukle said his son used to go to the Kangaluru market every week to buy things for the family. He was unarmed. You could have arrested him, why shoot him,” he said.
His wife Mangili said they learned of his death only when the family saw his face in a document released by police a day later.
Similarly, Parse Tula, brother of Joga Bars, said, “He had gone to pick tendu leaves and I was at home. I came to know about his death through a report the other day. He was an alcoholic and very ill. He was staying with us, so I knew he was not a militia member. He has no weapon. Joga has a wife and two children,” he said.
Asked about the announcement of a reward of Rs 10,000 for his son’s arrest, Dula Damo’s father said, “We are hearing about the reward for the arrest of Naxals. We have never heard of the reward announced for my son’s arrest. He regularly visits the Kangaluru market; Why was he not arrested then? He even worked as a construction worker in Philadilla, but he was never arrested,” he said.
‘They shot first’
Asked about the allegations leveled by the family, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav said, “The Maoists opened fire on us and they were killed in the retaliatory attack. Their top priority is protecting their weapons; “If one militant is shot, others run away with his weapon,” he said.
The police said that the identities of the dead were found by the surrendered Naxals.
“If we want to kill them, why arrest more people? Those who were killed first fired at us. We also found some uniforms they had changed after seeing the troops,” said Jitendra Kumar Yadav.
A police officer said that Bediya area in West Bastar division is mostly under the control of Maoists and is one of their last three strongholds, the other two being Abujamad and South Bastar. Bijapur has about 3,000 militants, of which 600 are believed to be armed.
