The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has issued notice to the Chief Secretary, Odisha and the Collector and SP, Gajapati district, over the chopping of hands and leg of a poor tribal worker and distress migration of tribals in the undivided KBK region.
Moved by the petition filed by lawyer and rights activist Radhakanta Tripathy, the apex panel for tribals on Wednesday sought replies within seven days from all the authorities.
Due to apathy, negligence and failure of the State Government, an extremely poor tribal migrant worker’s hand and leg were chopped off by a labour contractor. The victim is Sanka Murmu of Kalba village under Adaba police station limits in Damadua panchayat of Gajapati, petitioner Tripathy alleged.
On September 13, 45-year-old tribal man Sanka Murmu was allegedly assaulted for demanding wages for working at a cement factory in Uttar Pradesh. His right palm and left foot were chopped off allegedly by the labour contractor and his accomplices. Tripathy cited the plight of earlier incidents where he also filed petitions and suggested short term and long term measures to be taken by the State Government to prevent such barbaric acts and to check migration of work force who often face undue hardships.