On 14 January 2016, a combined team of Coordination of Democratic Rights Organizations (CDRO), Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS), conducted a fresh fact-finding in the Sukma and Bijapur districts in Chhattisgarh. Initially the objectives of the fact-finding mission was to investigate cases of encounter killings, supposed “surrenders” by Maoists and atrocities against tribal women in the villages in the intervening period of 3 months since the last fact-finding of WSS. However, the intensity and frequency of reported attacks, that the team learnt of once they were in the area, compelled them to limit the focus of the fact-finding to events that happened in the course of one week, between the 11th and the 15th of January.
In order to cover as many incidents as possible, the fact- finding team was split into two groups. The first team investigated cases of fake encounters in Peddajojer village in Bijapur district while the second team investigated cases of large scale sexual violence, torture and looting in Kunna, a village in Sukma district and Nendra village in Bijapur district. The team met villagers and relatives of those killed in the police encounter in Peddajojer village, and the families affected by large scale violence in Kunna and Nendra village. In terms of officials, the team met the Deputy Superintendent of Police Bijapur District, Dhirendra Pati; District Collector, Yashwanth Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of Bijapur Zila Panchayat, Abhishek Kumar Singh, the Deputy Superintendent of Police of Bairamgarh, Sahu, District Collector and Superintendent of Police, Bijapur.
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2016-April-State-of-Siege_Report.pdf
