Southern States - Karnataka   

Eedu villagers fear retribution by `naxalites'

By Ganesh Prabhu

Eedu (Udupi Dt.) Nov. 25. An atmosphere of fear prevails at Eedu, the village where police gunned down two suspected naxalites of the People's War on November 17. Some villagers fear that the "naxalites" may take revenge on them. Prashant Poojary (21), in whose house the encounter took place, said the naxalites first visited the village two years ago. Their nocturnal visits became frequent in the past three months.

Mr. Poojary is the youngest son of his parents. His three sisters are married, while his two elder brothers work in a hotel in Mumbai. The family has three acres of land where areca nut and paddy are grown.

After finishing his tenth standard, he took to agriculture to help his aging father. Besides, there was no money to pursue college education. "The whole village is now like a graveyard. We are all frightened of the naxalites, and the blood and gore,'' he says.

According to him, the villagers now look at his family with suspicion that they had contacts with naxalites. "It would have been better if the encounter took place in some other place,'' he says.

He wants the State Government to pay compensation for the damage the house had suffered in the "exchange" of fire.

He showed the walls pierced by bullets. He wants a road to his neighbourhood. Even two-wheelers cannot approach the area. Sudhakar Poojary (28), an agricultural labourer who owns 21 cents of land, says that he has been without work for one month.

He has studied till the fourth standard. His two brothers are working in a hotel in Mumbai. He too had known the "naxalites".

The two have taken loans of Rs. 55,000 and Rs. 65,000, respectively. Shekhar (30), an agricultural labourer, says a team of naxalites came to his house three months ago and had dinner.

The three of them believe that the naxalites said the right things but had employed the wrong means to attain their objectives.

The naxalites had told them about the prevailing inequality and how it should be set right. Their speeches inspired them, but not their methods, they say. Sadananda Poojary, Vice-President of Eedu Gram Panchayat, says that the villagers are too frightened to talk about the naxalites and there is no point in giving half-baked information to the police.

It is only after the Singsara incident that he learnt of the true intentions of the naxalites. The Government is now seized of the matter and should act on it, he says.

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