The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : SP denies harassment of Girijans

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 10, 2007
ePaper

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

SP denies harassment of Girijans

Special Correspondent

Slams Maoists for threatening people’s representatives

No agitation in the agency is being disrupted, says SP
Blames CPI (Maoist) for posing threat to Girijans’ lives

VISAKHAPATNAM: The district police asserted that the Girijans were being arrested after a thorough inquiry only when they were associated with the banned CPI (Maoist) and its destructive activities, while appealing to the people and people’s representatives to enlighten the Girijans not to get associated with the naxalites.

In the light of the Government extending the ban on CPI (Maoist) and its affiliated and front organisations for another year, Superintendent of Police Akun Sabharwal in an open letter to the people, said that the banned outfit was using innocent Girijans in the killing of Zilla Parishad Vice-Chairman S. Ravishankar and some others, and the party also resorted to destruction of government property and looting of some poor Girijan homes.

Some Girijans were forcibly taken away with them and intentionally turned them into criminals.

Mr. Sabharwal said that no peaceful agitation in the agency area, like the anti-bauxite mining agitation, was being disrupted by the police and pointed out that cases were booked only against the Girijans who participated in destructive activities along with the naxalites.

While three were arrested in connection with the Ravishankar’s killing, only those connected with the destruction caused in Chintapalli mandal were arrested though 100 were involved, after conducting a thorough probe.

He blamed the CPI (Maoist) for not only threatening the people’s representatives but also causing a great risk to the lives of the Girijans by planning landmines on the agency routes and placing explosives around the memorials erected in the villages.

They even fired at unarmed employees of AP Genco at Sileru in spite of some children present nearby. People should question the CPI (Maoist) for these and other acts, Mr. Sabharwal said.

‘Slur campaign’

The SP regretted that police were being blamed in spite of the great risk they were facing in protecting the people’s representatives and Government property and not the naxalites who were killing the Girijans or turning them into criminals.

While the Police Department was going about the task of controlling the naxalites with a plan, it was the duty of the people, people’s representatives, people’s organisations and intelligentsia to create an awareness among the Girijans, he added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh