On January 8, the Chhattisgarh police brought Sodi Sambho, 28, to the emergency ward of the Raipur Medical College for treatment of a bullet wound. Her particulars were noted in the hospital register; she then vanished without a trace.
Ms. Sambho is a key witness in a petition filed in the Supreme Court which alleges that security forces fired upon and killed nine adivasis in a ‘ sanitisation operation’ in Gompad village, Dantewada district on October 1, 2009.
Ms. Sambho was last seen in public on January 3 this year, when the police intercepted her on her way to Delhi for a second round of treatment at St. Stephen’s hospital, where she had been operated on earlier. Since then, neither the press, nor her lawyers have been able to access her.
“The police has not allowed me to speak to Ms. Sambho,” said her lawyer, Colin Gonzalves, “The Superintendent of Police, Dantewada, Ambreesh Mishra, offered to let me meet her relatives but consistently deflected my attempts to meet her. However, the police have no right to intervene between a petitioner and her lawyer.” Mr. Gonzalves states that, as per his information, some of the 13 petitioners in the Gompad incident were in police custody and might be pressured to change their statements.
Earlier, concerned by her disappearance, Mr. Gonzalves filed an application at the Supreme Court, alleging that the Chhattisgarh police was interfering in Ms. Sambho’s medical treatment. On January 7, the Supreme Court directed the police “not to interfere, in any manner whatsoever ...in her coming to Delhi for her medical treatment.”
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, doctors at the Raipur Medical College told The Hindu that Ms. Sambho had been examined at the hospital the following day and was referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. But inquiries at the office of the Medical Superintendent at AIIMS have found no record of her ever being admitted at the hospital.
So where is she?
“As per our information, Sodi Sambho has informed the Konta Police Station of her intention to travel to Delhi for treatment,” said S.K. Vij, spokesperson for Chhattisgarh Police. In a telephonic interview on January 10, SP Dantewada told The Hindu that his information suggested that Ms. Sambho was scheduled to arrive in Delhi on the same day, but could not provide confirmation.
“Sodi Sambho is neither under arrest nor in police custody or surveillance,” said N. Baijendra Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. “As a private citizen, she is free to travel as she pleases.”
Three days after she is alleged to have arrived in Delhi by herself for treatment, there is still no information on her whereabouts. She does not speak any English or Hindi and has no known relatives in the city.
