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HRW wants India to use lawful methods to combat Maoists
Human Rights Watch panicking about appointment of KPS Gill - a badass Sikh policeman to confront maoists India must use lawful methods to tackle Maoist violence, a human rights group warned on Thursday, fearing serious abuses in a strife-torn state. Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the government to repeal the Special Public Protection Act in central Chhattisgarh state or amend it to conform to international legal standards. The New York based group said the act and the appointment of a known human rights abuser as security advisor to the state are likely to lead to serious abuses. Indias most celebrated policeman Kanwar Pal Singh Gill agreed earlier this month to join the fight against Maoist rebels. Gill, credited with ending a 13-year-long bloody Sikh rebellion in the 1990s, is now going to Chhattisgarh to help the beleaguered administration. The government should remove the special adviser K.P.S. Gill who led the Punjab police at a time of widespread rights violations, HRW said. Some 669 people died in 2005 in violence linked to more than 9,000 armed rebels who have spread over 15 states, according to government estimates. New Delhi refuses to negotiate with the armed Maoists, who launched their campaign in 1967. AFP Posted by: john 2006-04-27 |
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