Anti-Naxal forces ate up mid-day meals meant for children, gangraped woman for a week
Anti-Naxal forces ate up mid-day meals meant for children, gangraped woman for a week
Saranda, literally meaning a forest of seven hundred small hills, is known as the largest sal forest in Asia, situated in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Approximately 125,000 Adivasis / 10,000 families live in these forests, which have rich iron ore deposits.
A 30-year-old woman was repeatedly gangraped by security forces for a week during August in the Saranda forests of Jharkhand. Jawans of the anti-Naxal Cobra force captured her house, and made her to live with and cook for them. Today, she does not dare speak out against the barbarity since the jawans subsequently arrested her son for being a Maoist. She fears more for the life of her son, than speaking out against the atrocity that was heaped on her.
This woman's story is not an isolated one. Innumerable accounts of gross human rights violations are trickling out of the Saranda forests where the anti-Maoist exercise Operation Anaconda was carried out in August. More than 500 Adivasis were brutally tortured by the forces and 15,000 directly affected by the atrocities, according to rights activists.
During Operation Anaconda, which was carried out jointly by the Jharkhand police and the paramilitary forces, the jawans ate up, mixed and spoiled foodgrains in many villages, besides destroying the harvest. They also ate up the meat that villagers had in stock. In many places, the security forces broke down doors and destroyed houses. They gobbled up the edible materials in three private ration shops, and later destroyed them. They also damaged most of the utensils (made of steel and silver) and seized the bronze ones, traditional weapons, axes, clothes and agriculture equipment to show that these were recovered from Maoist camps. The security forces destroyed land entitlement papers, ration cards, education certificates, voter identity cards and job cards in Tholkobad, Gundijora, Baliba, Tirilposi and Bitkilsoy villages.
Schools remained closed even now and mid-day-meals were suspended in 25 villages during the anti-Naxal operations. The jawans even ate up the foodgrains meant for the mid-day meals of schoolchildren in Baliba, Tirilposi and Tholkobad villages. They captured the primary school in Tholkobad, and destroyed books, schoolboxes and science kits. The jawans severely beat up a teacher, and destroyed the utensils, land patta and voter card of the convener of the mid-day meal committee. The construction works of two new school buildings were stopped at Baliba and Tirilposi villages. No one now dares sending their children to schools.
There are no health facilities available within 30-50 km of the Saranda forests. Villagers have to depend on the "jholachap doctors" (untrained medicine practitioners) or traditional medicine practitioners for treatment. The National Rural Health Mission does not exist for any practical purpose. The security forces have created a livelihood crisis by terrorising, torturing, raping and even killing villagers. Most of the youth in the 25 villages have fled. The region remains cut off. The forces have cordoned off the villages, and mediapersons barely have access to the area.
The ostensible reason behind the anti-Maoist operations in the area is mining. A Chinese company, Electro Steel, has been given a lease of the Dinsumburu mines, which is situated near Baliba and Kudliba villages. This is where the most heinous atrocities were committed by the security forces. There are 17 other groups/companies – including the Tatas, Mittals and Jindals – which have been given mining leases in the Saranda forests. The Adivasis have not been given land entitlements under the Forest Rights Act 2006. Without these, the mining companies can comfortably acquire the forest and environment clearance for mining purposes.
Saranda, literally meaning a forest of seven hundred small hills, is known as the largest sal forest in Asia, situated in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Approximately 125,000 Adivasis / 10,000 families live in these forests, which have rich iron ore deposits. Maoists rule the area, and hence the security operations. Operation Anaconda was the last of these.
A team from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) visited the area in September following a plea filed by the Jharkhand Human Rights Movement (JHRM). Senior police officials of the region however tried to sabotage the visit, according to JHRM. First, they tried to cancel the visit by giving NHRC false information about heavy rains in Saranda. When this disinformation was refuted by the JHRM, the police and the administration changed the route chart for the investigating team. They coordinated the visit in a manner to ensure that the team did not reach the most affected villages. Tirilposi village was even struck off the itinerary.
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