Letters from two mothers of Dantewada to the President of India

Letters from two mothers of Dantewada to the president of India

Honourable President , Sir,

I , Mrs Bhime, w/o Mr Chhannoo Ram of Village Dorguda ,Bhairamgarh Block, District South Bastar Dantewada, Chhatisgarh, am a tribal woman. My family has suffered grievous harm at the hands of Salwa Judum , the anti Naxal movement that has started in the area. My son Mr Mooda was killed as a Naxal supporter, in September 2005. My brother in law Mr Jaggoo and his daughter Phoolmati have been thrown in the Jail.

My son, my brother in law and his daughter did not want to leave the home and shift to the ( Government ) relief camps. That is why whenever they saw the members of Salwa Judum approaching them, they would leave their home, and run off into the forest. One day in September 2006, the security forces, Special Police officers, and members of the Salwa Judum surrounded our house, and killed my son. My brother in law and his daughter were put into jail.

Honourable sir, only a mother might be able to share the grief of an old woman whose son has been murdered in front of her own eyes. Who else can understand the sense of helplessness in such a situation.

The law is being flagrantly flaunted by the very custodians of law. These breakers of law and order have the declared support of the Government.

My daughter in law has been widowed in her youth and the two children are now fatherless. My husband and I are old, and our future was dependent on our son. How will we now manage our lives without him?

Honourable President, Sir, Please help me to get justice for my family members, and punishment for the members of Salwa Judum who murdered my son.

I am afraid that after I submit this application to you, there will be repressive action taken against me and my family. Or I might be kidnapped or framed in some false charges. If something like this does happen, the police and the administration shall be responsible for the harm that is done to me or to any member of my family.

With Thanks
Applicant
Mrs Bhime, w/o mr Chhannoo Ram, Village Dorguda ,Bhairamgarh Block, District South Bastar Dantewada, Chhatisgarh,




Honourable President

I Mrs Sanaki, w/o Mr Mangooram Bhogami, Village Dorguda, Bhairamgarh Block, District South Bastar Dantewada, Chhatisgarh, am a tribal woman. I am deeply anguished by the torment meted out by the security personnel and Special Police Officers appointed by the Government in support of the Salwa Judum.

When the Salwa Judum activity started, my son Jairam Bhogami and my daughter in law Ramo Bhogami left our Dorguda home and shifted to our old ancestral home in Faraspal village . The Salwa Judum members were forcing all the people in our village to join the movement and shift to the ( Government ) relief camps.

We knew the problems of leaving our own home and shifting into the camps. The arrangements for stay in the camps were inadequate, and we would loose our livelihood if we left our homes and went away.

Considering our options, I decided to stay back in Dorguda and asked my son and daughter in law to shift to our ancestral home and take care of our farm land there.

On 24.11.06 I called my son and daughter in law as the rice had been harvested and I needed their help to store it safely. On my invitation they came over and we began our work.

At that time, the members of Salwa Judum, Special Police Officers and other security personnel came to our home and caught my son. They tied him up and started beating him. They said he had been missing for a long time and so he was a Naxal supporter. He told them that he was away in our ancestral village and home and was cultivating the land there. He also assured them that he was anyway planning to come down to meet them in the camps in a couple of days, but they tied his hands behind his back and brutally kicked him and beat him with sticks. When my daughter in law tried to stop them, she was also beaten up very badly.

After this they dragged my son to the police station in Mirtur village and beat him up there also. I am afraid the beating has caused him many internal injuries and breaking of bones because even after 2 weeks he is unable to move around at all. At present also he is locked up in the police station.

I was also beaten up and my chest and ribs are still in severe pain .

Honourable President Sir, my family has been harassed without any reason, and my son is still in police custody. This is a very frightening situation where there is no support available for the help of poor people like us, while the Salwa Judum movement is in action. I am sending this application to you with the hope of finding some justice. Please help my family members to find justice.

I am afraid that after I submit this application to you, there will be repressive action taken against me and my family. Or I might be kidnapped or framed in some false charges. If something like this does happen, the police and the administration shall be responsible for the harm that is done to me or to any member of my family.

Thanking you,

Mrs Sanaki, w/o Mr Mangooram Bhogami, Village Dorguda ,Bhairamgarh Block, District South Bastar Dantewada, Chhatisgarh

(Photocopy of original affidavit in Hindi available with Chhattisgarh Net)

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