A year on, tribals continue protests over killing of 4 Silger villagers
Chhattisgarh Sarv Adivasi Samaj president Sohan Potai said the Silger protest over the killing of four villagers was the longest tribal protest in Chhattisgarh in the last 40 years.
RAIPUR: Over a thousand tribals are set to gather in the Silger village in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur on Tuesday to commemorate the first anniversary of the killing of four tribals in an alleged police firing and seek action against the team that killed them.
The four were killed during a protest by local tribals against the establishment of a security camp, which opened on May 12 near Silger village - a Maoist stronghold along the border of Sukma-Bijapur districts. Three people were brought dead to the hospital. A few days later, a fourth woman succumbed to her injuries. The Chhattisgarh Police have described the dead as members of village-level “frontal organisations” of Maoists.
Since then, in what tribal experts call one of the longest protests in Bastar’s history, residents have been protesting against the killings at the same spot in Silger.
A statement on Monday by the Mool Niwasi Manch, an organisation that was born out of the Silger protests said: “On June 16, 2021, we met the chief minister in Raipur where he promised fulfillment of all demands of the Silger protestors based on the magisterial enquiry’s report. On March, 25 2022 we again met with the CM, in Raipur, where during the conversation he assured us of fulfilling our demands within a month however, there has been no result. Hence the protest will continue. We are organizing a ‘Jan Sabha’ (mass gathering) marking the one year of the Silger massacre... We request the Congress government not create hindrance in the way of media persons, protestors, social workers, and tribal leaders who will be heading for Silger’s Jan Sabha.”
Sohan Potai, Chhattisgarh Sarv Adivasi Samaj president, said the Silger protest was the longest tribal protest in Chhattisgarh in the last 40 years. “The government should have intervened by now but it seems that they are not interested in addressing issues of tribals,” Potai said.
The protesters have been demanding a judicial proble into the deaths, and ₹1 crore compensation to those killed in the firing.
The government did order an enquiry by a sub divisional magistrate (SDM) on August 12, 2021, but there has been no official word on its findings.
Sukma collector Vineet Nandanwar on Monday said, “The SDM inquiry report has been submitted to the government a month back.”
Tribal rights activist Soni Sori said they didn’t know about the probe’s findings. “Why was the report not made public if it was submitted a month back? It shows that the government is hiding something,” she said.
Meanwhile, the protesters have steadfastly refused to end the protest at Silger.
“We will not call off our protest till our demands are met. The demands are simple – terminate the official responsible for killing tribals and withdraw the Silger (security) camp. We have also demanded ₹1 crore for the family members of the deceased and ₹50 lakh for the people who were injured,” Gajendra Mandavi, vice-president of Mool Niwasi Manch, said on Monday.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar range, Sunderaj P said that the Silger camp was established because it is crucial for security in south Bastar and the demand to wind it up was motivated.
“A few people with vested interests are trying to misguide villagers and planning to create an atmosphere of enmity and hostility in the region. We are hopeful of winning over the confidence of the native population and with their support would bring an end to the Maoist menace in the region,” he said.