Former Chief Minister and executive president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Hemant Soren has demanded a high-level inquiry into all Naxal surrenders that have been reported in the State since 2015, claiming that most of them were fake.
At a meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Sunday, the leader of Opposition referred to his letter to the Home Minister on December 12 last year in which he had cited examples of 513 such people who according to him were victims of police torture and suppression which had extended to a few killings also. Soren said that these incidents had miserably torn the faith of the tribal communities in the Government.
At the meeting where the party's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjiv Kumar and lok Sabha MP Vijay Kumar Hansda along with others also accompanied Soren, the ex-CM, however, admitted that the State was suffering badly due to Naxalism.
"As a political party, we highly condemn Naxal violence and call it unconstitutional. However, we also condemn suppression of tribals in the name of anti-Naxal operations. We will have to go deep into the roots of very basic reasons of Naxalism in the State. Kith and kin of those killed or murdered in the name of Naxalism by the police have been struggling to earn their daily bread and butter," said Soren in his memorandum to the Home Minister.
However, ADG (Operations) RK Mallick outrightly rejected Soren's allegations of suppression, fake surrender or fake encounters of anyone from the community in the name of Naxalism. "Matters related to such allegations are already in the court and things will come clear from there.
Hemant Soren seeks probe into Naxal ‘surrenders'
As far as charges of suppression are concerned, we have done nothing wrong so far under Operation Nayi Disha which was started to provide safe passage to those Naxals willing to return in the mainstream of society. I must say that we are moving ahead with Operation Nayi Disha which is going to see last Naxal in the State either surrendering or facing the music," said Mallick.
Soren in his memorandum also alleged the State Government was awarding such police officials who were found involved in alleged fake encounters instead of punishing them. He added that suppression and killings of innocent people hiding behind anti-Naxal operations would only add to the problem in future.