Sukma villagers ask police to end CRPF “violence”

Chodi Erama (30), a tribal farmer of Chintagufa village in Sukma district of south Chhattisgarh, is confused and worried these days.

Mr. Erama and others in his village say they are deeply troubled by the “daily atrocities” committed by the Central Reserve Police Force personnel stationed in Chintagufa. Around 200 villagers from the village approached the Sukma Superintendent of Police (SP), D. Shrawan, on June 20, seeking an end to the violence.

Cases slapped

“I was thrashed by the CRPF personnel twice in the last two months. They accused me of [having] Maoist links and slapped cases on me,” said Mr. Erama whose right hand is broken, apparently as a result of the CRPF beating.

“Every time they [CRPF] come for patrolling, they beat us up, saying ours is ‘a Naxal village’. They have damaged our houses and utensils,” claimed Podium Kosa, adding that the CRPF had been thrashing the villagers “inhumanly” for over two months now.

According to some villagers, the CRPF may be targeting them because of an attack on the CRPF camp in the village on April 9, in which three paramilitary jawans were killed by the Maoists.

But other villagers say the CRPF violence started earlier. “The first time they (CRPF) attacked us was on April 6. The day after the election, all the villagers were brutally thrashed with batons and rifle butts by the CRPF,” said Sodi Hunga, who said the CRPF men stripped him and put chilli powder on his private parts on June 19.

Women humiliated

The CRPF personnel have allegedly humiliated young girls from the village also. “They [CRPF personnel] asked me to strip, slapped me and asked me to go back home naked,” said a 17-year-old girl.

“How can we tolerate these day-to-day atrocities?” asked Kawasi Deva, who claimed that the forces snatched Rs. 3,000 from him. “They are threatening that there will be a repeat of Tadmetla [a nearby village which was allegedly ransacked by the security forces in 2011] here,” he said.

“We have our land and property here but if these atrocities don’t end, we will have to leave the village,” said Podium Idema, another villager.

Fed up with the atrocities, the villagers approached Sukma Superintendent of Police (SP) D. Shrawan. “The SP asked us to ensure that there would be no untoward incident in the village by the Maoists and that he would rein in the CRPF here,” Kawasi Budra, who suffered injuries on his leg, told The Hindu .

“If they [Maoists] come and ask for food we have to provide it. How can we resist someone with weapons,” asked a villager wishing to remain anonymous, reflecting the difficult situation the villagers find themselves in.

“I did ask them to cooperate with forces. There should be an effort from all sides. And as far as the villagers’ complaints are concerned, strict action will be taken against those found guilty of anything unlawful,” D. Shrawan , who has been recently transferred to Sukma, told The Hindu .