Kudium Pandu (30), an auxiliary constable of Chhattisgarh police posted in Farsegad police camp of Bijapur district in Bastar division, dropped his wife to Talmendri village on September 27 as her mother died.
On September 28, Kudiuam Pandu again went to Telmendri for his mother-in-law’s cremation but while returning he was abducted by the Maoists.
A local Tribal from nearby Chitanpalli village, Pandu was found dead hardly 500 meters from Farsegad police camp on the next day. Pandu is not the only local Tribal cop to have been killed after abduction in Bijapur this year. Eight other auxiliary constables, all from local areas, have been abducted and killed in Bijapur this year.
On April 7, auxiliary constable Bira Basant was going to his village Madded, when the Maoists abducted him. For next two days, school children and local trading community organised “silent” rallies in Bijapur and appealed to the Maoists to release their “Tribal brother”. But the public appeal fell on deaf ears and on April 15, Bira Basant’s body was found on Gangaloor- Bijapur road.
In the same month, Sundar Kashyap, posted in Mirtur police station and Bhagirathi Kartam posted in Kutaru police station of Bijapur, were abducted and killed by the guerrillas of Communist Party of India (Maoist) which claim to fight for “Tribal cause” in Bastar.
In June, Telam Dokka, who was posted in Talipenta police station of Bijapur, was killed in the same fashion. On July 13, four auxiliary constables, Jaydev Yadav (30, Rama Majji (25), Mangal Sodhi (27) and Rajuram Telam (30), were returning to Kutaru police camp in a local passenger bus after withdrawing their salary money from an ATM in Nemed village.
“The Maoists stopped the bus, took it a few meters inside forest and abducted all four after separating them from other passengers. Their dead bodies were found after two days on the same road,” informed Bijapur Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) I. Kalyaan Elesela. They were unarmed Eight out of nine auxiliary constables killed after abduction in Bijapur this year, were local Tribals and were travelling without any weapon and in civil uniform for personal or family work.
“It shows their [Maoists] frustration. According to some Maoist documents, the National Park Area committee of Maoists in Bijapur has not been able to execute any major attack on the security forces so they are targeting local individuals. But how can they justify killing someone who was returning from the cremation of his relative?” asked Mr. Elesela.
The series of abduction and killings of local Tribal cops is not limited to Bijapur district. Two local Tribal cops, posted in Sukma district, were abducted by the Maoists in last two months. Maoists killed one of them, however, the ultras released the other cop after appeal from his family members.
Almost all these auxiliary constables worked as Special Police Officers (SPO) during Salwa Judum days and were recruited as Auxiliary constables in 2011 when the Supreme Court banned the anti-Maoist militia and the SPOs.
“Maoists are not even killing these cops in a direct combat. Will killing unarmed Tribal men bring the revolution of the Maoists?” asked an agitated Madhukar Rao, a former Salwa Judum leader.
According to Bijapur ASP, these cops are making mistakes by travelling without protection and unarmed.
“But it is their area. They have been frequenting these villages since their childhood. But now we have issued strict instructions to them and have asked them not to leave the camp without proper backup,” Mr. Elesela said.
“These local Tribal cops are being targeted because they know the area in and out and can identify who is Maoist and who is not. The Maoists are also vary of the information networks these local men have which is why they are considered a threat,” said an officer involved in the anti-Maoist operations in Bastar.
The Maoists, on their part, have appealed to the local cops to leave the police force. “Stop fighting for corporates who are here to snatch tribal land. Take up any other job other than policing or be ready to die at the hands of the PLGA,” a statement issued by Madhavi, secretary of the West Bastar Divisional committee of the Maoists earlier this year said.
