Afraid of Maoists’ atrocities, tribal family leaves Chhattisgarh village

NARAYANPUR - Fearful of Maoists’ atrocities many families are seeking to take refuge at safer places even at the cost of their hearth and home.

A tribal family in Chhattisgarh, which has to abandon everything it possessed for survival and relocate to a new village, is one such instance in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh.

Fear of Maoists has forced the family of Lalsu Salam to leave behind their belongings and take shelter in Useha Deda village of the District.

Salam was charged with spying for the police and was severely beaten and threatened with dire consequences by the Maoists in a village court, a few days ago.

Scared after the thrashing and the imminent threat to his life, Salam and his family, comprising his wife and three children, abandoned their home in the village leaving behind their land, house, cattle and other belongings.

According to Salam, the villagers also compelled them to leave the village immediately, indicating a strong nexus between the villagers and the Maoists.

“They (Maoists) falsely accused me of passing information to the police and beat me up. I had gone to get salt and cloth from the town. They questioned me as to why I keep going to the town and threatened me to leave the village. The Maoists and the villagers asked me to leave the village,” said Salam.

Though the family will have to start from scratch in the new place, the Salams’ said that they would never return to their village again.

“We will now stay here and find work as a labourer. We will not go back. Even if we fall ill, we will stay here. We have only informed the village head, nobody else,” said Pale Salam, wife of Lalsu Salam.

Despite the frequent occurrence of such episodes, the local police officials said they are unaware of the incident.

“We have not received any information about such an incident. We will register and take action if such a case is reported to us,” said Komal Netam, a sub-inspector, Narayanpur.

Maoist rebels in recent months have stepped up attacks in retaliation to a government’s offensive operation to clear them out of their jungle bases.

The Maoists claim they are crusading against the prevailing political system and in cause of the poor and marginal farmers and landless labourers. But their atrocities continue to terrorise local villagers. (ANI)