Naxal-murdered tribal villager's family demands justice

Sukma (Chhattisgarh): A pall of gloom has descended over Dhuurguda village in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.

On the night of March 20, armed Naxals brutally killed Durro Handa, a progressive villager, who wanted the hinterland to get connected to the Sukma district headquarters.

He wanted to bring marginalised tribal villages into the mainstream, educate children and bring electricity in the village.

Pandu, brother of the deceased, said, "They (Handa and his wife) were asleep when few men came and took him away. Our sister-in-law came to us and told us that our brother was picked. So, I, with my elder brother, followed them and asked them where they were going. They said they just wanted to talk to him and would leave him after that. So, we returned and slept but he didn't return for the whole night. We, along with other villagers went to look for him in the morning and we found his dead body two kilometres inside the jungle."

Barging into people's homes, harassing them and threatening them with deadly consequences is a regular exercise for Naxals in Chhattiagarh.

Now, the villagers are coming out and speaking against Naxal atrocities.

A resident of Dhuurguda Village, said, "We are living a terrible life. Our life is severely hit by Naxal issue. Our children are unable to get the education. We cannot move to even our neighbouring village. If we go to Sukma market, Naxals catch midway while returning and ask us if we went to police. They accuse us, thrash us, life has become dreadful. We don't have any facility in our village and anyone who desires it is killed."

Naxalism, however, has been rapidly losing its ground as the government, through its multi-layered strategy been able to bring people living in this region on board.

Many of these hardliners have rejected the obsolete ideology of left-radicalism and have surrendered to the police.