Thousands of villagers in Dantewada district of south Chhattisgarh have launched an intensive but a peaceful protest over the killing of Bhima Nupo, a tribal of Rewali village, allegedly by the police on January 6.
“More than 7000 villagers from over 20 gram panchayats walked throughout the day on Friday and have reached Kuwakonda police station now. Bhima Nupo was killed by the police. His five children and wife are helpless now. We are demanding strict punishment to his killers and the district administration should also make arrangements for his family and provide compensation,” said Rewali Sarpanch Rakesh Tati who is a part of the protest.
However, police have been claiming that Bhima Nupo was killed by the Maoists.
The protest is being led by the Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader and tribal activist Soni Sori.
“There should be an inquiry by a serving judge against the police jawans who were out on patrolling on the day of incident near Rewali. The deceased’s wife is an eyewitness of the killing. We are also demanding compensation for the family of the victim,” Ms.Sori told The Hindu .
Ms.Sori also alleged that police have stopped the “peaceful” protesters near Kuwakonda police station.
“We were walking towards Dantewada when police stopped us here. But we won’t stop unless and until the district collector or the district Superintendent of Police (SP) turns up here and listens to our demand. We will walk to Dantewada otherwise,” added the AAP leader.
Dantewada district collector K.C.Devsenapati did not respond to repeated calls and massages from The Hindu when tried to reach for his reaction over the protest.
