Chhattisgarh: Police case against 121 tribals rested on a pair of trousers, bows & arrows

RAIPUR: Acquittal still doesn’t mean freedom for 13 of the 121 tribals exonerated by an NIA court of charges of assisting Maoists in the 2017 Burkapal ambush. They will remain behind bars on other charges.
After spending five years in jail for an offence they never committed, 105 tribals are now on their way home. While acquitting them of aiding Maoists, the NIA court observed that the prosecution couldn’t prove any of the allegations against them.Special NIA judge Deepak Kumar Deshlehre observed that the prosecution couldn’t establish any link between the 121 tribals and Maoists.
“The prosecution couldn’t establish the major question if the accused were present or identified to have been present on the spot. If analysed thoroughly, even the witness statements and seizures do not support the allegation that these undertrials were involved in the Maoist attack or had links with them,” the judge said.
Judge Deshlehre also noted that no “hazardous or inflammable weapons” were recovered from them, pointing out that a “camouflage lower (trousers), bows and arrows and an indigenous bomb” were seized from some of the tribals.
Police had arrested 125 tribals between 2017 and 2019 for allegedly aiding Maoists in the ambush that killed 26 CRPF personnel. A woman and three juveniles are out on bail. And one suspect, 42-year-old Dodi Manglu, died in prison on October 2, 2021, due to illness.
Out of the 118 tribals lodged in Jagdalpur jail, 105 were released on Saturday. They were charged under stringent sections, including UAPA, IPC, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and Chhattisgarh Public Security Act. The prosecution couldn’t prove its charges on even one of them.
Asked if Bastar police will appeal in Chhattisgarh high court, Bastar range IG P Sundarraj told TOI that the “judgment and legal prospects would be reviewed”. “Only if anything is found on technical grounds, then it calls for an appeal. It will be too early to say anything now,” he said.
Police will keep checking on those who have been freed, Bastar range IG P Sundarraj said. “As part of the basic duty of police, those released will be checked upon once in a while, but they won’t be asked to visit police stations,” the IG said.
Asked on what basis these tribals had been arrested from their villages, Sundarraj said, “Those active in the militia network of Maoists in a particular area are identified. The locals often have to work as per the modus operandi of Maoists, like a supporting team, cut off network during or after attack, work as shields to prevent reinforcements from reaching the spot and help in evacuation of Maoists. Based on the evidence available and witnesses, their direct or indirect involvement is checked and they are picked up.”
Investigation into the Burkapal incident is still on against 139 absconding Maoists, including commander Hidma. “If they aren’t apprehended, police will challan them absconders and a warrant will be issued,” he said.
Tribal rights activist Bela Bhatia, who was one of the defence lawyers, said the Burkapal case is an example of “grave injustice” on tribals of Bastar. “Who will compensate for the five years of their lives?” he asked.
“After such an acquittal, people return home and try to pick up the threads of their lives. The government has no package for compensating them for the time spent in prison, lost earnings or other consequences on family members, especially old parents, young wives and children. In some cases they have to come to terms with illness and death in the family or community in their absence. Their own state of mind may also have been affected in prison,” she said.
Thousands of undertrials are languishing in Bastar jails as bail is mostly denied in Maoist cases, Bhatia pointed out. A speedy trial is their only hope, she said.