We have come here from the other side of the Indrawati river as Maoist insurgents harassed us there, often using us as human shield against security forces.
Not only this, rebels asked children to join their ranks and even forcibly took away half of the yield in their fields.
Here in the camp, they of course, don’t have any problem in earning livelihood, but alienation from our culture and losing community/ village spirit is really painful,’ said the inmates settled at Dantewada district's Kasoli Relief Camp to the visiting National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team on Wednesday.
Notably, a team of NHRC comprising its members Justice B C Patel, Satyavrat Paul, special reporter Ms S Jalja, joint director (law) of the Commission and nodal officer A K Parashar and SSP P D Prasad on the last day of their two-day visit to insurgency-hit Bastar region, reached Kasoli relief camp located in Geedam block of Dantewada district where 673 insurgency-hit people are taking shelter for the last 8 years since the beginning of Salwa Judum, a civil militia movement that broke out in June 2005 against the leftist insurgents.
When asked whether they felt at ease in camp or their villages, the camp inmates told the NHRC team that they felt alienated from their own community, environment, land and the society due to insurgency plaguing the area for the last three decades but are forced to live this life knowing well that fulfillment of this aspect was hardly possible at the administrative level.
The team members also talked to Special Police Officers (SPOs), the Salwa Judum leaders who have been recruited in state police after the movement was disbanded by a Supreme Court order, about their work and training.
They told the team members that as the Maoists harassed them they became SPOs and were later recruited as constables.
Bastar Police Inspector General Himanshu Gupta informed the team members that these constables have been given proper police training before their recruitment.
Since they know local languages and are familiar with the hilly terrain of the area they are sent on search and combing operations along with police party.