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| India-Pakistan |
| Naxalites beat police 'informer' to death |
| 2008-12-27 |
| Naxalites dragged a woman from her home and beat her to death -- in the presence of other villagers -- late last night. Thirty-odd rebels carried out the killing in Daldalia village under Charhi outpost, 22km from the district headquarters. According to eyewitnesses account, the Naxalites acted on the suspicion that Etwaria Devi, 38, was a police informer and believed that she deserved death for her "crimes". After being dragged out of her home, the woman was beaten up with sticks, lathis and stones. Though she cried out for help, fear of meeting a similar fate kept her neighbours from helping her. The only person who came to her rescue was her 13-year-old daughter, and the teenager was also beaten up and then locked up in her home -- for trying to save her mother. After some minutes of severe beating the woman died on the spot. Around 11:30pm, Naxalites armed with sophisticated weapons reached Daldalia and knocked on Etwaria's door. The deceased's husband, Kailu Oraon, opened the door and was overpowered by some cadre -- while others searched for Etwaria. When they spotted the mother of three hiding inside, the rebels dragged her outside. Kailu and his three daughters were locked up in a room with a warning to not intervene. Eyewitnesses accounts state that after being dragged out of her home by her hair, Naxalites began a kangaroo court where they "levelled" charges against the woman for being an informer and then an enemy of the poor. The cadre alleged that Etwaria had passed several important information regarding the outfit's operations to the police, resulting in arrests and foiled attack attempts. The senior woman was also accused of leaking information to the police that later led to the Dahudaag gunbattle in July. The officer in charge of Charhi police station, Vijaykant Thakur, was killed in the Dahudaag encounter. After levelling charges, Naxalites passed a verdict to beat Etwaria to her death. Though the woman tried to save herself, she failed, as did her daughter, Namita, a Class VIII student, who also received blows on her head and arms after running out of the house where she was locked in with her father and sisters. Police reached the murder spot in the morning and sent the body for post-mortem. Officers recovered two pamphlets near the body that warned of a similar fate to all police informers in and around the area. Talking to reporters today, the officers, however, denied Etwaria's police link and described the murder as "brutal" and "irrational". So far, Naxalites have taken many lives in similar fashion after accusing the people of being police informers, however, this was the first instance where a woman and a mother was made a victim of their suspicions. |
| Posted by:john frum |