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irrigation canals on our farm, five uniformed people arrived … Then
one of them spoke in Gondi and I realized they were Naxalites. They
tied my hands together with a rope. When my father asked what they
were going to do with me, they said, “We are going to get him
married.” I said, “What marriage?” They all laughed. They said “Don’t
you know what it is to be married?” I later realized they meant they
were going to kill me. 326
He escaped because some villagers came to his defense and Naxalites let him go.
After this he left his village for the second time. 327
After Vattam Fanu’s second flight, Naxalites raided his house at least twice and
looted grains and jewelry. He said he then approached the police for assistance. The
police began to use him as an informer and a guide. In January 2007 he was given a
police job. When Naxalites found that he had joined the police they attacked his
family:
They came to my house and said, “Your son has joined the police. Call
him back. Hand him over to us.” My parents told the Naxalites that
they had no contact with me. But they [Naxalites] were very angry. They
dragged my brother out and beat him … My younger sister was also
badly beaten. She is not even 18 years old. Even my parents were not
spared. They were beaten with rifle butts and sticks in front of the
whole village. They cut my sister’s earlobes to take her earrings. They
only stopped beating her when she fainted. They said now that I had
joined the police, they would come back to take my sister with them to
fight. My sister and several other young people from the village have
gone away to another city to escape being recruited by Naxalites. 328
326 Ibid.
327 Ibid.
328 Ibid.
101
Human Rights Watch July 2008