Two women tribal leaders "go missing" in Uttar Pradesh for a month: Police claims they were released on June 8

Sukalo Gond

By A Representative

Two Uttar Pradesh forest rights leaders belonging to the All-India Union of Forest Working Peoples (AIUFWP) Sukalo Gond and Kismatiya Gond have reportedly gone "untraceable" even though the state government claims both were released over a month ago. Belonging to the Sonbhadra district, the police couldn't "trace" them and produce them before the Allahabad High Court at the second hearing of a Habeas Corpus petition on July 9.
Revealing this, a human rights site, Sabrang India, run by well-known rights leader Teesta Setalvad, reports that the state government said in the court the police gave the two women a challan under Section 151 police and were released soon after. "However", it adds, "It appears that at first the government made efforts to get the hearing postponed, but when the lawyers for the petitioners expressed their concern for the life and safety of the two women, it finally made a shocking disclosure ‘On Oral Instructions'."
"No details for the 151 challan were provided, nor the details of their ostensible release shared", the report quotes advocate Farman Naqvi, appearing for both the two women, as saying. The lawyer demanded in the court that their release should be put on an affidavit, as "they are not traceable for over a month after their clandestine arrests on June 8."
Section 151 is a common offence imposed on peaceful protesters. It relates to continued assembly of five or more persons after orders for their dispersal have been given. Setalvad's NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and AIUFWP moved the court seeking the "immediate production and release of illegally detained" adivasi women leaders Sukalo and Kismatiya.
While Sukalo is treasurer of AIUFWP, and Kismatiya is secretary of a local Forest Rights Committee. The two, says the report, were arrested in a "clandestine manner" from Chopan station, Sonbhadra district, just as they were returning after a meeting state forest minister, Dara Singh Chauhan, and the forest secretary in Lucknow on June 8.
The report says, adivasi women of Sonbhadra who are a part of a "peaceful struggle for land rights, and are being "systematically bullied and harassed". Many of them have "fake cases" filed against them on "false or trumped up charges." They have been fighting, with CJP and AIUFWP support, in the demand for implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
Ahead of the arrest, Sukalo was fighting for the land rights of adivasis of Lilasi village. Says the report, "First, on May 18, the UP police picked up and detained adivasis from Lilasi and made them go through harrowing procedures for about a day. Later, on May 22, they entered the village, completely unwarranted and assaulted women and children, in which Kismatiya sustained severe injuries."
As Sukalo constantly campaigned on how the village was turned into a police camp, "bulk FIRs were filed against the villagers on the pretext of an 'afforestation project', the details of which wasn’t known to anybody", the report says, adding, "Even though Sukalo wasn’t present during the episodes of assaults by the police, and her name was nowhere mentioned in FIRs, she was arrested from Chopan station on June 6 in a clandestine manner when she and Kismatiya and were returning after meeting the state forest minister."
The report claims that Sukalo was the main link between these villagers and others outside the area. "These villages are located in the far-off interiors and not even well connected by roads. Mobile phones are scarce. Arresting her is a clear method to intimidate these fierce Adivasi women so that they stop speaking up", it adds.
On AIUFWP and CJP’s intervention, NHRC issued a notice to the district magistrate of Sonbhadra to look into the violent onslaught of UP police and forest department. "However", saus the report, "The feudal nexus of the government, the forest department and big landholders is carrying on its oppressive onslaught with impunity."

Previous arrest

This is not the first time that Sukalo has been arrested. In June 2015, when forest rights movement was gaining momentum in Sonbhadra, the state government "resorted to violence to crush the peaceful protest of people against the Kanhar dam in a brutal and bloodied manner", says the report.
Sukalo has been quoted as saying, “Eighteen rounds were fired right in front of my eyes. It was terrible. They arrested almost all the women leaders, including Rajkumari, immediately. I had no option but to run away, they were arresting every body.”
Arrested in the wee hours of June 30, 2015, along with Roma, AIUFWP leader, they were sent to Mirzapur jail. However, she continued her struggle within the four walls of the prison. She, along with other inmates, wrote multiple letters to authorities and sat for hunger strike to demand basic facilities as well as land rights outside.

Comments

Uma said…

We are fast becoming a fascist country. Goodbye to democracy

July 15, 2018

Adani coalmine delayed? Australian senate fails to pass crucial "reform" amendment for project's financial closure

Adanis' Mundra power plant, controversial in Australia By A Representative In what is being described as a new “new hurdle”, the proposed Adani coalmine in the Queensland state of in Australia failed to get the crucial Australian Parliamentary nod, essential for financial closure for one of the biggest coalmining projects in the world. The government lost the Senate vote 35-33, meaning the legislation won't pass until the Senate returns in mid-June.

Paul Newman wasn't just remarkably talented, he was anti-war activist, disdained Hollywood excesses

By Harsh Thakor* On January 26th of this year, we celebrated the birth centenary of Paul Newman, one of the finest actors of his era. His passing on September 26, 2008, after a prolonged battle with lung cancer, was met with an outpouring of tributes and remembrances from artists across the film industry, all sharing their thoughts and memories of the legendary actor.

Aurangzeb’s last will recorded by his Maulvi: Allah shouldn't make anyone emperor

By Mohan Guruswamy Aurangzeb’s grave is a simple slab open to the sky lying along the roadside at Khuldabad near Aurangabad. I once stopped by to marvel at the tomb of an Emperor of India whose empire was as large as Ashoka the Great's. It was only post 1857 when Victoria's domain exceeded this. The epitaph reads: "Az tila o nuqreh gar saazand gumbad aghniyaa! Bar mazaar e ghareebaan gumbad e gardun bas ast." (The rich may well construct domes of gold and silver on their graves. For the poor folks like me, the sky is enough to shelter my grave) The modest tomb of Aurangzeb is perhaps the least recognised legacies of the Mughal Emperor who ruled the land for fifty eventful years. He was not a builder having expended his long tenure in war and conquest. Towards the end of his reign and life, he realised the futility of it all. He wrote: "Allah should not make anyone an emperor. The most unfortunate person is he who becomes one." Aurangzeb’s last will was re...

Chhattisgarh's CFR management plan implementation under PM-DA JGUA: A promising start

By Dr. Manohar Chauhan* Chhattisgarh is poised to benefit significantly from the Pradhan Mantri Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Uttkarsh Abhiyan (PM-DA JGUA) Mission, launched by the Prime Minister on October 2, 2024. This mission aims to support 400 gram sabhas in the state in developing and implementing Community Forest Resource (CFR) Management Plans.

Health expert Dr Amitav Banerjee on commercialization of healthcare and neglect of natural immunity

By AK Shiburaj In an interview with me, eminent health expert Dr. Amitav Banerjee has examined the impact of privatization on the healthcare sector, the implications of the World Health Organization (WHO) becoming a commercially driven entity, and the consequences of a pharmaceutical industry prioritizing profit over public health. He argues that an approach ignoring the importance of natural immunity fosters a drug-centric system that undermines the benefits of modern medicine.

Haven't done a good deed, inner soul is cursing me as sinner: Aurangzeb's last 'will'

Counterview Desk The Tomb of Aurangzeb, the last of the strong Mughal emperors, located in Khuldabad, Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, has this epitaph inscribed on it: "Az tila o nuqreh gar saazand gumbad aghniyaa! Bar mazaar e maa ghareebaan gumbad e gardun bas ast" (the rich may well construct domes of gold and silver on their graves. For the poor folks like me, the sky is enough to shelter my grave).

Hyderabad seminar rekindles memories of the spark lit 50 years ago by students

By Harsh Thakor* History is something we constantly remember and reflect upon, but certain moments and events bring it back to our memory in a special way. For the Telugu people, and Telangana in particular, the memorial seminar held on February 20–21 was a significant occasion to recall the glorious events, transformations, leaders, and heroes of past struggles. Thousands of students rewrote the history of people's movements in Andhra Pradesh, carrying revolutionary zeal and the spirit of self-sacrifice to levels comparable to the Russian and Chinese Revolutions.

Trust, we (from People to PM and President) did not take a Holy Dip in some Holy Shit!

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava I could see two deeply interlinked aspects between human and water in #MahaKumbh2025. Firstly, the HOPE that a ‘holy dip’ in the River Ganga (colloquially referred as dubki and spiritually as ‘Snan’) will cleanse oneself (especially the sins); and secondly, the TRUST that the water is pure to perform the cleansing alias living the hope. Well, I consider hope to be self-dependent while, trust is a multi-party dependent situation. The focus here is on the trust and I shall write later on hope.

Democratic Front Against Operation Green Hunt condemns alleged extrajudicial killings in Chhattisgarh

By Harsh Thakor* The recent encounter in Indravati National Park, Bijapur district, in which 31 Maoists were killed, has brought the total Maoist casualties in Chhattisgarh this year to 81. Following this incident, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated the government’s objective of eliminating "Left-wing extremism" in India by March 2026. This was the second-largest reported Maoist casualty in a single security operation, following the deaths of 38 Maoists in Narayanpur’s Thulthuli on October 3, 2024.

Operation Kagar represents Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism: Resistance continues

By Harsh Thakor Operation Kagar represents the Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism, which claims to embody the struggles and aspirations of Adivasis. Criminalized by the state, the Maoists have been portrayed as a threat, with Operation Kagar deploying strategies that jeopardize their activities. This operation weaves together economic, cultural, and political motives, allegedly with drone attacks on Adivasi homes.

Search This Blog