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extrajudicial killings will increase. 116 One tribal activist who works extensively in
Bijapur and Dantewada districts shared his concerns,
There is not much Salwa Judum activity now [December 2007] and
Salwa Judum does not go on processions because these are too noisy
and attract too much attention. Now only CRPF and SPOs go quietly
and kill people. So now you will see that “fake encounters” are on the
rise. There have been encounters in March and May 2007. 117
As one senior human rights activist pointed out, such extrajudicial killings often are
given a veneer of legality:
SPOs are almost all Salwa Judum fellows given legal cover by the
Government…. From the completely anarchic practice of security forces
accompanying a civilian vigilante group [Salwa Judum] to burn and kill,
they have shifted to a formally legal regime where the forces take the
SPOs along. This is accompanied by another change. Earlier they
would not announce the killings committed by them. They would let
the bodies rot and be consumed by animals. Now they announce
“encounter killings” and conduct an inquest and an autopsy. 118
There are already allegations of such extrajudicial killings. 119 Human Rights Watch
interviewed eyewitnesses to what official sources claim was an encounter with
Naxalites in May 2007. According to the police, in an armed exchange with Naxalites,
two Naxalites were killed and another was arrested in Nayapara. Villagers who
witnessed the events that day alleged that the police had opened fire on unarmed
civilians.
116 Human Rights Watch interviews with Rajendra Sail, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Raipur, December 17, 2007;
Himanshu Kumar, Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, Kawalnar, January 28, 2008 (second interview).
117 Human Rights Watch interview with A1 (name and details withheld), local activist, Dantewada, December 11, 2007.
118 Email communication from K. Balagopal to Human Rights Watch on May 7, 2008.
119 Human Rights Watch interviews with A1 (name and details withheld), December 11, 2007; Rajendra Sail, December 17, 2007;
Himanshu Kumar, January 28, 2008.
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Human Rights Watch July 2008