Monday, Jun 06, 2005
Monday, Jun 06, 2005 |
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Staff Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Participants of the `Rozgar Adhikar Yatra', including economist Jean Dreze, were reportedly lathicharged by the police and prevented from holding a public meeting in the naxalite-affected district of Surguja in Chhattisgarh late on Saturday night. While several `yatris' suffered injuries, Mr. Dreze was manhandled, according to Samar, a Ph.D. student of Jawaharlal Nehru University who is participating in the yatra. Mr. Samar told The Hindu over telephone that the incident took place at Balrampur police district in Surguja.
"Yatris sent back"
Denying the charge that the rallyists were beaten up, Balrampur Superintendent of Police S.P. Kalluri said the yatris did not take permission to hold a public meeting nor had they been given prior information regarding the function. "Since this is a highly naxalite-affected area, any stranger is presumed to be a naxalite unless he or she proves otherwise. The yatris were prevented from holding a rally and sent back to Ramanujganj for the night." Witnesses said that five men in plainclothes pointed guns at more than 300 villagers who had assembled at the venue to listen to the participants and asked them to disperse. Those who did not were beaten up. According to Mr. Kalluri, the Police Department had lost 30 lives in naxalite attacks this year and it could not afford to take any risk there because the naxalites often came in disguise. "The responsibility of this misunderstanding lies totally on the local organiser who should have informed the local authorities that an economist of such eminence was leading the yatra. It would have been my pleasure to meet Mr. Dreze. In fact, I have arrived at Ambikapur to meet him and clear the misunderstanding,'' Mr. Kalluri said.
CPI demands action
In New Delhi, Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan condemned the incident and blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party Government in Chhattisgarh. He demanded the immediate suspension of the Superintendent of Police involved in the incident.
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