For interrogation on the orders of District Superintendent of Police
A tribal woman caught in a “cross fire” last September was allegedly prevented by the Chhattisgarh police from travelling to the capital on Sunday for follow-up treatment to her wounded leg.
The woman was injured during an alleged encounter between naxalites and security forces.
According to Himanshu Kumar of the Vanvasi Chetna Ashram (VCA), a local Gandhian group, Sambho Sodi was not allowed to travel by bus from Dantewada by the police, which accused her of being a ‘naxalite.’
Mr. Kumar then accompanied Ms. Sodi in a private vehicle but the two were stopped in Kanker and detained by the police.
Policemen at the Kanker station confirmed to The Hindu that Ms. Sodi was being held for questioning on the orders of the District Superintendent of Police.
Brought to Delhi in a stretcher last October, Ms. Sodi was subsequently treated at Delhi’s St. Stephen’s Hospital and is now able to walk with the help of a walker.
In a statement on Sunday, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, criticised the alleged harassment of Ms. Sodi and Mr. Kumar. With the VCA set to hold a public hearing on the violation of human rights in the area by the security forces, the PUCL accused the government of gearing up to sabotage the event.
Green Hunt is the name of the nationwide anti-naxal operation launched by the Central paramilitary forces in tandem with the State police.