Soni Sori, the tribal accused of
acting as a courier between Essar Steel and the outlawed Communist Party
of India (Maoist), has been acquitted in a crucial case filed in 2010
by the Dantewada district police against 19 individuals for allegedly
opening fire and using explosives to blow vehicles of Essar. Ms Sori was
one of the key accused in the case.
“But the additional sessions
court of Anita Dehariya could not find enough evidence to substantiate
the allegations and hence Ms. Sori was acquitted yesterday [Tuesday],”
said Ms. Sori’s lawyer K.K. Dubey. Ms. Sori was arrested in 2011 by the
Chhattisgarh police for allegedly arranging transfer of money from the
privately-owned Essar Group to the members of the banned CPI (Maoist).
Altogether, six cases were registered against her and she has been
acquitted in four cases so far.
Hole in prosecution case
The
witnesses presented before the court could not relate Ms. Sori to the
case (sessions trial number 5/11) of firing and burning vehicles using
diesel and explosives. “None of the witnesses presented by the police
could connect Soni to the incident and that left a gaping hole in the
prosecution,” said Mr. Dubey. Incidentally, Ms. Sori was acquitted in
another case about a week back. In that case, (sessions trial number
4/11) the allegation was of firing on police near Essar Beneficiation
Plant in Kirandul. “There also, witnesses could not confirm if Soni was
related to firing on the police,” Mr. Dubey said. . Last year, Ms. Sori
was acquitted in two more cases related to firing in Kuakonda police
station and burning of a block office. “However, the more critical
allegations against Ms. Sori acting as a courier between Essar and the
CPI (Maoist) and the attack on Congress leader Avdesh Singh Gautam are
continuing,” said Mr. Dubey.
Iconic figure
Ms. Sori
— a tribal woman with three children — has emerged as an iconic figure
symbolising the State’s attitude toward tribals since her arrest in
October, 2011. Ms. Sori’s letter to her lawyer claiming that she was
sexually assaulted in police custody under the direct supervision of a
police officer, Ankit Garg, became a global rallying point on tribal
atrocities. While Mr. Garg and the police continuously denied all the
allegations, hundreds of intellectuals, academics, and civil society
activists signed petitions, demanding justice for Ms. Sori — a ‘Stand Up
For Soni Sori’ campaign was launched across the country. In major
cities like London or New York, activists took to the streets, building
up the case internationally for Ms. Sori and her 24-year-old
activist-journalist relative, Lingaram Kodopi.
Interestingly,
while Mr. Kodopi and Ms. Sori both are languishing in jail, like the
other 2,000 tribal undertrials of south Chhattisgarh, for allegedly
working with the Maoists, two of their co-accused got bail soon after
the arrest.
D.V.C.S. Verma, the general manager at an Essar steel
plant, and B.K. Lala, one of Essar’s contractors, were arrested in the
same case allegedly for paying protection money to the Maoists, which
rebels. In fact, Mr. Lala was caught with Mr. Kodopi in the same Palnar
market where allegedly Ms. Sori was also present.
While both Mr.
Verma and Mr. Lala have been out on bail for a year, Ms. Sori and Mr.
Kodopi are both behind bars in Bastar’s jails. Activists associated with
the case feel that this is another ‘glaring example’ of injustice to
the tribals. Ms. Sori’s lawyer, however, sounds optimistic: “Her
acquittal in the all the minor cases may give her a speedy trial in the
Essar case now.”