The Hindu : Missing Adivasis traced

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 12, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Missing Adivasis traced

By Biju Govind

KOZHIKODE MARCH. 11. The case of missing tribals has taken a beating with the police tracing 23 persons named in the `list of missing' put out by political parties and human rights groups, from their colonies in Wayanad.

All of them had been reported missing after the police action to evict the tribals who encroached upon a portion of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary at Muthanga on February 19.

Fifteen Adivasis, Gouri (35), Vatta (30), Chami (36), Nani (29), Mara (27), Manu (5), Santha (26), Mathi (28), Unnimaya (4), Mithuna (4), Nenchi (40), Sivan (8), Kali (50), Bijesh (5) and Bineeth (3), have been traced from the Chaligadha colony in Mananthawady taluk. All of them were produced before the Sulthan Bathery First Class Judicial Magistrate Court today. Five others, Santha (22), Bindu (10), Mani (15), Nanchi (30) and Koori (35), have been found from the Theenoor colony at Nambikolli in Bathery. They were also produced before the court on Monday.

Most of the `missing' Adivasis said they left their colonies after the eviction operation at Muthanga. Some of them said they were hiding in the forests. Later they moved on to other colonies. A few others said they fled their colonies fearing that the local people would harass them. The tribals told the police that none of the Adivasis was staying inside the wildlife sanctuary.

A special squad, headed by the Wayanad District Crime Records Bureau, Deputy Superintendent of Police, B. Muraleedharan Nair, and assisted by the Circle Inspector, V. Devarajan, the sub-inspectors, Harish Chandra Naik, Maniappan and Vishwambaran, and 10 constables, six of them policewomen, has been engaged in the tracing operation.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), North Zone, Sanker Reddy, told The Hindu today that the special squad had been constituted following a petition filed by the Wayanad Human Rights Protection Committee chairman, Thomas Joseph Therakam, at the Sulthan Bathery police station on March 6.

Meanwhile, the special team also gave a report to the High Court of Kerala about the whereabouts of three tribals, Kalan (45) and Kali (38) of the Chempamula colony and Babu (20) of the Kottayur colony.

Mr. Sanker Reddy said the special team would continue with its search operations to trace all the alleged missing persons.

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