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

V. Abuses by the State
Although the director general of police (DGP) of Chhattisgarh stated that government
security forces attend Salwa Judum rallies “because they have to be protected,” 100
nearly all of the people who reported Salwa Judum raids on their villages said that
government security forces participated in the burnings, killings, and beatings.
When NGOs and human rights activists have brought to light human rights abuses
and violations since mid-2005, the government has questioned the authenticity of
their reports and largely ignored them, allowing human rights abuses and crimes to
be perpetrated unchecked. 101 Chhattisgarh officials, including state police, have
repeatedly harassed journalists and activists who reported such violations and
abuses.
A. Killings, beatings, burnings, and pillage
Villagers consistently said that government security forces routinely participated in
Salwa Judum raids through late 2007 and a number said that these security forces
were still participating in reprisals up to the present. 102 A displaced person from
Nayapara said, “Every day police used to come, beat us, threaten us, kill people,
that’s why we got frightened to death and ran here [Andhra Pradesh].” 103
100 Human Rights Watch interview with Vishwa Ranjan, director general of police, Raipur, December 17, 2007.
101 Nandini Sundar and others v. State of Chhattisgarh, Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 119 of 2007, Counter Affidavit on Behalf of
Respondent, January 22, 2008, p. 310, para. 5(b). In their counter affidavit, the Chhattisgarh government “disputes the
authenticity of report prepared by PUCL [People’s Union for Civil Liberties] and other NGOs.” NGOs fact-finding teams
published their findings since 2006.
102 See above, section IV, Abuses by Salwa Judum.
103 Human Rights Watch group interview GR5 with four IDPs (who chose to remain anonymous) from different villages in
Bijapur district, village K2, Khammam district, December 2, 2007.
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