Extra Judicial Killing Of Women Naxalites in Uduppi

Extra Judicial Killing Of
Women Naxalites

People's Democratic Forum Fact Finding Report

On 18th November 2003, the newspapers published a news that two women Naxalites had been killed in an encounter on 17th November at Bollottu in Karkala taluk of Udupi district. People in Karnataka are aware about a movement of the adivasis in the Western Ghats region against the formation of Kudremukh National Park. The encounter occurred with this movement in the
backdrop.

This incident has disturbed all democratic minded people and all those who believe in human rights. It is in this context that a team of seven members,
including members of PDF, journalists and lawyers visited the spot where the encounter took place.

The team met the inmates of the house where the incident took place, the villagers in that area, the police and in particular Mr. Murugan, the Superindent
of Police, Udupi district. The team also met Yashoda, a member of the Naxalite team,who was injured in the encounter and was hospitalised by the police. Details of the encouter were also collected from journalists
of Udupi. The team wishes to place before the people of Karnataka its findings regarding the alleged encounter, specially the violation of human rights
that happened during the episode.

The FACTS

(1) The intention of the police was not to arrest the Naxalites.

This point is clear from the way the incident took place and the discussion that the fact-finding team had with the people it met.

* The number of policemen were not enough to overpower
and arrest the Naxalites.

* The moment they saw Parvathi they shot her without
bothering to find out whether she was a house-member
or Naxalite.

* They could have easily arrested Hajima inside the
house. Rather, they shot her point-blank, hitting her
on her stomach.

* Yashoda could escape being killed only by hiding in
the loft. She was already injured by then. She was
arrested and kept in illegal detention.

(2) The encounter is fake.

The police claim that they had to fire in self-defence. But the findings of the team is in contradiction to this.

* As the inmates of the house say, Hajima was not
killed by any bullet from somewhere. She had rushed
into an inside-room for cover. She was pursued by the
police into the room where she was shot down even
though she was unarmed.

* Yashoda, who is in hospital, has categorically said
that she had witnessed Hajima being killed by the
police inside the room and there was no encounter.

* The team did not come across any traces of
cross-fire.

* The statement of Mr. Murugan, the SP, does not make
it clear whether the police personnel were also
injured in the shootout.

* The weapons and other materials allegedly recovered
from the Naxalites were all taken away that night by
the police without any 'panchnama'. On 17th November
at around 12noon, the police went back to the spot
with the bags belonging to the Naxalites, put them in
the room, took snaps to show that there was a
'panchnama'. Naturally, such an action by the police
raises quite a few questions.

* The SP now claims that Hajima was killed by a bullet
from somewhere. Such statements only increases the
suspicions regarding the circumstances under which
Parvathi was killed.

(3) The delay in handing over the deadbodies to the
relatives and the harassment.

* The parents of Paravati faced a lot of harassment in
the hands of the police when they went to claim her
body. The human rights activists were questioned about
their relationship with the persons killed, when they
had accompanied the parents for claiming the bodies.

* Haji, the brother of Hajima, was made to wait for
two days when he went to claim his sister's body.
During this period, he was also harassed and
interrogated for many hours. When the SP was asked to
clarify why such treatment was meted out, he mentioned
that if required the police would have taken more
time.

These details go to establish the fact that the police
has intimidated the people to cover their own lapses.

(4) Threat to Yashoda's life

The incident took place on 17th morning (early hours).
Yashoda was not produced in the court till 22nd
afternoon. As per law, she should have been produced
in front of the magistrate within 24 hrs of her arrest.
The SP mentioned to the team that the police had not
yet arrested her. However, it is a fact that she is in
police custody in the hospital - anyone wishing to
meet her had to obtain the permission of SP.

Yashoda is an eye-witness to the killing of the other
two women. She was only produced in court after she
appealed to the Chief Justice of Karnataka through
a written letter. However, the members of the
fact-finding team have a fear that even now her life
is under threat, as she is the sole witness to the
killings.

(5) Oppression against democratic movements in the
name of suppressing Naxalites

After the encounter, the manner in which the police
has acted with the democratic movements, human rights
organisations and political activists, it is quite
clear that they wish to suppress them.

(6) No FIR was filed

The law relating to human rights state that a FIR
should be filed every time there is an encounter.
There is also a law that 'encounters' should be
treated as 'murders' till proved otherwise. During the
incident at Karkala, no such procedure was followed.

On the basis of the above findings, the team makes the
following demands :

(#) A judicial enquiry should be conducted into the
encounter.

(#) All the police personnel involved in the incident
should be suspended pending enquiry.

(#) Yashoda should be provided adequate protection
considering the threat to her life.

(#) The government of Karnataka should take steps such
that the culture of encounters stays away from
Karnataka.

(#) The Naxalite movement has been going on in
different parts of the country for more than three
decades. The vicious circle of killings and
counter-killings continues because the governments
fail to recognise the movement as a political issue
but treat it as a law and order problem. The
fact-finding team demands that the government should
consider the Naxalite movement as a political
movement.

After the incident, the home minister says that it is
a political problem where government should consider
the Naxalite movement as a political movement.
After the incident, the home minister says that it is
a political problem where as the law minister speaks a
different language. This only shows how confused the
govt. is about the issue. The govt. should come out of
this confusion and declare the issue to be a political
one.

signed by -

Prof. N. Babaiah (PDF)
Prof. G.K.Ramaswamy (PDF)
P.Choudhuri(PDF)
R. Somanath (journalist)
B.N.Jagadeesh (Advocate)

Coutesy- Harsh Kapoor, SACW