Adivasi Youth Killed in Police Firing

 

THE Karnataka state committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has sharply condemned the killing of an adivasi youth in police firing. According to a statement issued by the party from Bangalore on October 23, it was the police firing in a forest in H D Kote taluk of Mysore district that took the life of Raju, an innocent adivasi youth.

 

On October 19, Raju and his friends, named Krishna, Rama and Bola, went to the nearby forest areas to collect honey as usual. However, without any provocation, the police fired at Raju and he succumbed to the injury. It is surprising that the police, instead of handing the body over to Raju’s family, had cremated it in the forest itself, which act is unpardonable. This is the way the Karnataka police under the BJP regime is treating the innocent people.

 

At the initiative of the CPI(M), the Forum for the Rights of Adivasi and Tribal People held a powerful protest demonstration before the taluk office in Heggada Devana Kote immediately after this dastardly murder.

 

Hundreds of tribal people participated in the protest along with Thimmaiah Penjalli and B M Shivanna, president and secretary respectively of the Forum for the Rights of Adivasi and Tribal People.

 

Addressing the largely attended protest demonstration, CPI(M) state committee member and Forum leader S Varalaxmi told the gathering that the BJP government is not allowing the poor tribal people to earn their livelihood. In fact, the BJP was hesitant to bring in a legislation, during the NDA rule, to protect the rights of the tribal people. It was due to the pressure of the Left parties that the earlier UPA government had to pass the Forest Right Act in 2006, which allows the tribals to collect forest products. In future also, we have to continue our fight against police high-handedness, she said.

 

The Forum demanded compensation of Rs 5 lakh to Raju’s family. It also demanded stringent action against the police officials who caused the unwarranted firing leading to the death of an innocent youth. (INN)