The CRPF and SOG forces deployed here for anti-Maoist operations have been very rude to the local tribals. They are conducting raids at random and arresting tribals indiscriminately.
When unable to find cooperation, the forces are just wrecking havoc and harassing the tribals in several ways, including thrashing and torturing. In following such a tactic, they best know how far they have succeeded in controlling the dreaded Maoists, but for the people of Nuapada, life has become a hell.
Jaya Shankar Pahariar and Jayalal Rout, two teen age boys of Sindurpada hamlet of Kathfar village under the Boden police station, were beaten by the Jawans on December 31 last at about 11 am, when they were returning home with their goats from a forest, they had taken for grazing. The Jawans inquired about the whereabouts of some Maoists. When the boys could not answer, they were roughed up.The Jawans have been rude to many other people of the plateau in the past. They had beaten 25 villagers of Jalmadei village in March this year. Eight villagers of Khadang village had been beaten before that.
“The Jawans asked us about the Maoists. When we said we know nothing, they beat us, took us to the police station and detained us. We were taken to Nuapada, where the SP quizzed us again,” said Jaldhar Paharia of Sindurpada, who was illegally detained in the police lock up of Boden Police Station for more than 40 hours along with fellow villager, labanya Raut. Both were released after they were grilled by the Deputy Commandant of CRPF Ramsing and SP Umashankar Dash.
The reason for their arrest and detention was interesting. The Jawans found six mobile phone sets in the house of labanya Rout. Without inquiring about the owners of the sets, they seized those and started enquiring about the Maoists. Not getting any satisfactory answer, they started beating them indiscriminately.“The village has no electricity. Thus laibana has brought a battery from Dharnimal village which is charged by a solar panel. The villagers bring their mobile sets for charging here. However, without believing this, the Jawans guessed that the mobiles belonged to the Maoists and began harassing the tribals,” said Gopala Rout of the village
Kathfar is located 3,000 feet above sea level in the Pathdarah plateau, which is a part of the buffer zone of Sunabeda sanctuary. There is no road to the village. Most of the people here belong to the Paharia tribe, who have been denied their rights of tribal identity by the Government. The people of this village hardly get any benefit from the Government programmes. Agriculture and forest produce are their lone source of income.
The villagers of Sindurpada had come to the Boden Police Station to lodge a complaint against the Jawans. They submitted their complaint to the police but the FIR was not registered.“They never lodge any FIR against the Jawans in such cases. Their objective is to terrorize the people,” said advocate Hiralal Majhi of Boden, who is also a Samiti Member of Bhainsadani Panchayat.