“Being Neutral is Our Biggest Crime” - Global Coalition to Protect ...

near the Boddiguda dam. We were about 15 women. We walked till
Manikonta, and from Manikonta we got a truck and were coming back
when on our way we saw around 15 bodies of the men who were with
us. Some of them were lined up along the road and others were strewn
on the side. When we were on the way to the camp, we saw the force
[Central Reserve Police Force or CRPF] going [to collect the bodies]. My
husband was among those killed. 350
Emla Dhruvesh, another victim of Naxalite abduction stated that on July 8, 2006,
Naxalites stopped the public bus that he was traveling in near Manikonta on the
national highway. They blocked all traffic and forced travelers including him to
attend a meeting nearby. “Naxalites were making speeches against Salwa Judum
and telling everyone not to support them,” said Emla Dhruvesh.
After the meeting most of the travelers were allowed to leave. But Naxalites
recognized him and kept him back. “Earlier they used to tell me to join them. They
knew I was educated,” he said. He and three others were blindfolded. Their hands
were tied behind their backs. They were then marched for what Emla Dhruvesh
thinks must be at least two kilometers. “Finally we reached their camp and our
blindfolds were removed. There were at least 40-50 Naxalites resting there. They had
all kinds of weapons.” One of the commanders began to question him. They said
that his brother was an SPO and beat him with rifles and sticks. He begged for mercy
and explained that he did not follow politics and was studying in a college in Sukma.
He even showed them identification documents from his college. Emla Dhruvesh
recognized a local village council leader and another villager among those in
Naxalite custody along with him. In the evening, all the prisoners were given food.
The prisoners were then paired up, and their wrists tied together. A small group of
Naxalites began to march them through the forest when he managed to escape. He
described,
I was tied to a man called [name withheld]. I could see that we were
being taken towards the road. I knew this meant that they were
350 Human Rights Watch interview with villager (who chose to remain anonymous), camp resident, Dornapal, December 12,
2007.
“Being Neutral is Our Biggest Crime” 108