Skip to main content

'Fake encounter': Chhattisgarh's Abujmarh has 3 paramilitary personnel for every 7 locals

Counterview Desk 

The civil rights network*, Forum Against Corporatization And Militarization (FACAM), commenting on what it calls “fake encounter of three Villagers in Nendra, Bijapur”, Chhattisgarh, has said that the incident comes “as part of the escalation that began on the 1st January 2024, when the Indian state initiated Operation Kagar in Abujmarh area, as an expansion to the ongoing Operation Samadhan-Prahar (OSP).”
In a statement seeking immediate judicial enquiry in the matter and an end to Operation Kagar, it adds, “Operation Kagar has seen the mobilization of 3,000 paramilitary personnel from other states to the 6 paramilitary camps in Abujmarh, where now for every 7 locals, there are now 3 paramilitary personnel.”

Text:

FACAM has learned that on 19th January 2024, three villagers, Madkam Soni and Punem Nangi from Nendra (Bijapur district) along with Karam Kosa from Gotum were killed by the police in Chhattisgarh. They were going to join a protest before they were apprehended on their way and killed on the hills between their villages. The security personnel claim that three were Maoists who were killed in exchange of fire. Later, the police tried to burn their bodies which was only stopped after the people from their villages demanded the bodies be handed over to them. 
This incident comes as part of the escalation that began on the 1st January 2024, when the Indian state initiated Operation Kagar in Abujmarh area, as an expansion to the ongoing Operation Samadhan-Prahar (OSP). Operation Kagar has seen the mobilization of 3000 paramilitary personnel from other states to the 6 paramilitary camps in Abujmarh, where now for every 7 locals, there are now 3 paramilitary personnel. Operation Kagar was inaugurated with the killing of a 6-month-old infant in Bijapur district, shot dead after drunken members of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) fired on protestors, where the infant’s mother was breastfeeding her. 
The intensification of paramilitary presence in India’s resource-rich regions under the guise of countering Maoism, has served to intensify corporate loot of India’s natural resources at the service of imperialist and big corporate interests. All of this is undertaken under OSP, with the paramilitary unleashing a spate of brutalities on the Adivasi peasants to force them off their lands which contain the precious ores and deposits that the imperialists and big corporates seek.
Fake encounters such as this have been made commonplace under OSP, with the killing of Sodhi Dewa and Rava Dewa in Tadmetla in September last year, one of the more recent and infamous examples. The two were stopped by the police on their way back from their relative’s home, dragged to the forest and shot dead. Both were prominent and longstanding members of the village and the police’s claim that they were members of the armed unit of the Maoists made little sense to the people of theirs and nearby villages who rose up in protest against this fake encounter. 
Nendra village’s history itself is a microcosm of the brutalities the Indian state metes out in its war against people at the service of imperialist and big corporate interests. In January of 2016, the village of Nendra was taken over by the paramilitary (CRPF, DRG, Koya) as a base of operations. A joint fact-finding team of Coordination of Democratic Rights Organization (CDRO) and Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS) found that during this period in Nendra, the men were driven out of the village and the women were held hostage for the sexual gratifications of the paramilitary and the police, with over thirteen instances of gang rapes occurring in a three-day period. 
Threats were levied by the paramilitary officers that the village would be burned, reminding the people of the horrors of Salwa Judum and the brutal and unsuccessful Operation Green Hunt. All of this was done with the excuse of conducting combing operations in the nearby forests to curtail Maoist activities. 
Even when people assemble as a means of exercising their democratic rights, they are fired upon and killed, as was experienced with the killings of Madkam Soni, Punem Nangi and Karam Kosa. Corporatization and militarization go hand in hand, which is why it is so necessary for the Indian state to eliminate all forms of resistance, even if it is unarmed, so as to allow unfettered loot of India’s natural resources by imperialists and big corporates as well as the grabbing of peasant land.
Corporatization and militarization go hand in hand, which is why it is considered necessary to eliminate even unarmed resistance
The electoral chest-thumping of Home Minister Amit Shah to “end the Naxal problem,” a claim he made as recently as 22nd January 2024, is manifesting itself in the intensified militarization of the region and repeated massacres of Adivasi peoples which are projected as Maoist casualties to boast its supposed successes in anti-Naxal operations. 
The heightened presence of the paramilitary will only lead to deaths of more infants and more fake encounters as the BJP-led Indian state, instead of recalling, intensifies its war on people. In the last 20 days alone, 65 arrests have also been made of “Maoist sympathizers and those supporting the Maoists in Bastar” per local journalists after the Maoists attacked a CRPF camp in Bijapur district, allegedly killing 35 CRPF personnel and injuring 40 others in a retaliation to Operation Kagar on 16th January 2024. On the other hand, Bastar police has partially refuted this claim.
Not only has this matter been strategically silenced in mainstream media, but the arrests are also ambiguous by law too, as the mere allegation of ‘sympathizing’ with a political ideology alone is not a crime, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court and various High Courts. 
These arrests, instead, are part of the diktats of the Surajkund offensive part of OSP, which concluded that the state would crush “Naxalism of both the pen and gun.” This equates all forms of dissent and brands it with the redtag of Maoism. It also gives impunity to the state to arrest these so-called sympathizers to ensure that this undeclared war on people goes undocumented.
On the 22nd January gathering, Amit Shah told security personnel to “focus on ‘urban Naxals’, a conspiracy theory-term that has become part of state parlance under the BJP government. This is an alarming situation that not only affects the resource-rich areas of the country where the people directly confront the brutalities of the Indian state’s paramilitary and corporate loot, but also the cities where the exercising of democratic rights itself becomes equated with Naxalism. 
The killings of Madkam Soni, Punem Nangi and Karam Kosa, Adivasi peasants killed for merely going to a protest, and the rhetoric being perpetuated by the Brahmanical Hindutva fascist state are a reminder of the threat to the democratic rights struggle for all democratic-minded, justice-oriented and peace-loving organizations and individuals.
Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) condemns the fake encounters in Nendra, Bijapur, Chhattisgarh that took the lives of Madkam Soni, Punem Nangi and Karam Kosa.
FACAM demands an immediate judicial enquiry in the matter and an end to Operation Kagar!
---
*All India Students' Association (AISA), All India Revolutionary Students Organization (AIRSO), All India Revolutionary Women's Organization (AIRWO), Bhim Army Student Federation (BASF), Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Students Organization (BASO), Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch (bsCEM), Collective, Common Teachers Forum (CTF), Democratic Students Union (DSU), Fraternity Movement, Nazariya Magazine, Progressive Lawyers Association (PLA), Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan (MAS), Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI), Vishwavidyalaya Chhatra Federation (VCF)

Comments

TRENDING

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani*  India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

A Marxist intellectual who dwelt into complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape

By Harsh Thakor*  Professor Manoranjan Mohanty has been a dedicated advocate for human rights over five decades. His work as a scholar and activist has supported revolutionary democratic movements, navigating complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape. His balanced, non-partisan approach to human rights and social justice has made his books essential resources for advocates of democracy.

Four J&K MLAs visit Wular lake, pledge support to fisher community, environmental conservation

By Shamim Ahmed*   In a historic meeting that highlighted both environmental and social concerns, four Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) visited Wular Lake to meet with the fisherfolk community, signaling a significant step in addressing their longstanding issues. This gathering, organized with the support of dedicated advocates, marks a strengthening of efforts to both safeguard the lake’s ecosystem and support the community’s welfare.

Supreme Court’s dismissal of PIL on Covid vaccine safety is counter to known science and mathematics

By Bhaskaran Raman*  On 14 Oct 2024, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the side-effects of the Covid vaccine. In 2021, the world saw the rollout of various Covid vaccine candidates. In India, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Serum Institute of India’s Covishield were rolled out. Covishield was nothing but Oxford’s AstraZeneca relabelled in India. The importance of open-minded and scientific probe of Covid vaccine safety In 2020/2021, all Covid vaccines were authorized for emergency use, which meant that the necessary efficacy and safety follow-up was incomplete at that time. The originally approved trials – called randomised controlled trials (RCT) had a “vaccine” group and a “placebo” group for comparison. Such experimental comparison/control is the cornerstone of the scientific method – which even children learn in photosynthesis experiments in class-1. The vaccine trials were scheduled to conclude in late 2022/early 2023. For instance, Covax...

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.