Haunted by the past

After six people were killed in an alleged encounter, Ponjer has been abandoned by all the 25 tribal families

At first sight, Ponjer seems blissfully silent. In the middle of a flourishing forest, it8217;s a village in the Naxal-affected Bastar area of Chhattisgarh. The bliss, however, is a myth. There are no people here, the tendu leaves are unplucked, the mahua flowers are rotting and the houses, some burnt, are eerily empty.

Ponjer has been deserted since March 31, when some security personnel marched in at 8.30 a.m., abused people alleging that they were Naxal sympathisers and took away six of them. The same evening, the villagers found out that seven tribals, six from Ponjer, had been killed in an 8220;encounter8221; at Santoshpur village.

8220;They asked us to gather under a tree and later took six people for questioning,8221; says Madiyam Soni, whose son is among those killed. 8220;These men were picked up while they were collecting mahua. Do Naxalites or their sympathisers need to do such things?8221; she asks, insisting that the villagers had absolutely no contact with the Naxalites.

Despite tall claims by the Raman Singh government regarding infrastructure development in remote areas, the village is connected to Bijapur, the district headquarters less than 10 km away, with a dirt track, doesn8217;t have access to clean drinking water and though the village was once electrified, it has had no power for the past three year after the transformer broke down. The village, located just about two km from the kuchcha road that connects Gangalur and Bijaur, one of the most heavily mined areas in the state, is devoid of any sign of the 21st century8212;and now of any life either.

For, all the 25 tribal families of Ponjer8212;who make a living by collecting forest produce like tendu leaves and mahua flowers8212;have fled to neighbouring villages fearing for their lives. They are so scared that they haven8217;t even registered a complaint at the Bijapur police station. 8220;How can we hope to approach the police when some of their own have committed the crime?8221; asks Poonam Ramlu, a resident of Ponjer.

The tribals allege that at least four people were hacked to death and the rest shot. The killed villagers include Madiyam Fagu, Madiyam Lakhma, Kudiyan Musa, Markam Sanko and Marvi Mangu. 8220;How can someone act in such a cruel manner? The securitymen used axes and machetes to hack the victims,8221; says Kudiyan Puria, a resident of Santoshpur.

Soni and her son, 12-year-old Madiyam Mani Ram, were the last to vacate the village despite threats. They stayed back as they wanted someone to know about the tragedy. 8220;I want the killers of my brother to be punished,8221; says Mani Ram, pointing to the grave of his brother.

Story continues below this ad

All the victims have been buried near the village in the thick forest cover. The tribal practice of burial may help the investigations as the police have now been forced to exhume the bodies and establish the reasons for their death. Though the results of the probe are yet to be revealed and despite the DGP O.P. Rathore8217;s assurances that the guilty will be punished, most tribals don8217;t believe the government. They just hope the government and the Naxalites will take their differences elsewhere and let them live as they have been doing for several hundred years.