Anxiety was writ large on the faces of members of the Hakki Pikki tribal community at Sadashivapura village near here on Saturday. They believe 11 of their kin, who had gone to Rwanda in East Africa to sell traditional medicines, are now in police custody and in need of help.
The tribals want the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to step in but are unhappy with the slow progress of affairs, with the State government yet to reach out to the Centre on the matter.
Mahadevappa, father of Jagannath, one of the 11 who are now incommunicado, told The Hindu that the group reached Rwanda on September 10 with all their travel documents in order, including passport and visa. The community members here have had no communication with anyone from the group, barring a brief call from Mr. Jagannath on October 2 informing them that the group was in police custody.
“The call ended abruptly. After this, efforts to communicate with them have failed. The police there might have seized their mobile phones,” Mr. Mahadevappa said.
The villagers submitted a memorandum to the Governor’s office through the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police of Shivamogga on October 4, requesting assistance in ensuring the group’s return.
Home Minister R. Ramalinga Reddy said his department would soon contact the MEA on the matter. “I have directed the Additional Chief Secretary of [the department] to personally monitor the issue,” he said.
Lolaki Bai, mother of Ranjan, another man suspected to be detained, said, “Though memorandum was submitted three days ago, we haven’t got any information from the district administration. The entire village is grief-stricken and no government representative has visited us,” she said.
Mr. Mahadevappa said members of another team from the village on a similar trip to Zambia were detained recently for investigation, but they were released later.
Demand for traditional medicine
Though most of them are uneducated, the Hakki Pikki tribals possess traditional medicinal knowledge. There is demand for it in some African nations and, thus, members of the community have been making trips to that continent for nearly a decade now. They have also acquired communication skills in English.
The 11-member team — Jagannath, his wife Lathi, Ranjan, Sunanda, Raja Babu, Kajal, Sandeep, Sandesh, Badal, Menakha and Ishaq — was on a similar trip to sell herbal medicines to aid hair growth and to heal bone and muscle pains. No one in the group has passed class 10 at school.
Many families from the tribal community have visited Southeast Asian nations, Nepal, Bangladesh, and East African nations to sell their products.
