Lawless in Chhattisgarh

The erosion of rule of law and constitutional freedom in Chhattisgarh is still continuing. The instances of intimidation, harassment, physical attacks, evictions, false cases, and arrests of activists in Chhattisgarh have continued unabated in 2016, much like in the past. By embroiling the academics, journalists and activists in false cases and arresting and torturing some of them, the police ensure that crimes being committed by the government forces and their allies do not get reported.

The Telangana police arrested a seven-member fact-finding team of the Telangana Democratic Front (TDF) at Dummaguddem village of Bhadrachalam district on 25 December 2016 and handed them over to the Sukma police station in Chhattisgarh. In the wake of the murder of a 13-year-old tribal boy, Somaru Pottam, in a fake encounter at Metapal on 16 December 2016, the TDF was on its way to investigate the complaints of human rights violations suffered by the Adivasis at the hands of Chhattisgarh security forces. The Sukma police alleged that the team was in possession of demonetised currency notes and had come to aid the Maoists by exchanging the old currency notes. The team was accused under Sections 8(1), (2) and (3) of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, on charges of support to Maoists and for possession of banned literature. On 3 January 2017, the Dantewada district court rejected the bail application. The arrests and incarceration of the TDF activists are a part of the long chain of organised attacks marked by false cases, detention, intimidation and harassment of those who dare to expose the lawlessness of the state.