annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Jharkhand
from the house of Paulus Hansda, an
adivasi, in Banaso village during a
combing operation. The police were
reportedly conducting a combing operation
in the village when they heard music
coming out of the mud house. When they
entered into the house they found that the
family members were busy watching a film
on the video. The police took the goods
away accusing the family members of
either having stolen the same or gotten
them as rewards for helping the naxalites.
The family members even produced the
purchase documents and informed that the
son of Paulus Hansda who was employed
in Mumbai had paid for them. But the
police refused to believe them. Hansda,
along with a group of villagers, approached
the Superintendent of Police of Hazaribagh
who directed the policemen to return the
seized goods immediately. But no action
was taken against the errant policemen
including the Officer-in-Charge. 15
III. Atrocities by the armed
opposition groups
The armed opposition groups like the
Peoples War Group and the Maoists
Communist Centre were responsible for
blatant violations of international
humanitarian law standards. The armed
opposition groups resorted to
indiscriminate killings, torture, kidnapping
and “the passing of sentences and the
carrying out of executions without
previous judgment pronounced by a
regularly constituted court affording all the
judicial guarantees which are recognized
as indispensable by civilized peoples”.
The victims included civilians and alleged
police informers.
On 7 May 2004, suspected members
of the MCC killed one of its area
commander Nagesh Mahto in Ambara
village under Nawadih police station
limits of Bokaro district for his alleged
participation in the Lok Sabha elections. 16
On 10 May 2004, Gura Murmu, Dhani
Murmu, Lopsa Hansda and Sanat Murmu,
a physically challenged man, were
reportedly killed and four others were
injured by the MCC and the PWG cadres
at Chakri village under Dumaria police
station in East Singhbhum district. The
killing was in retaliation against the
alleged killings of two PWG cadres by the
villagers. While the polio struck Sanat,
who was unable to flee, was dragged and
bludgeoned to death, Lopsa Hansda was
shot dead at point blank range and his head
was crushed with stone. Gura Murmu and
Dhani Murmu were reportedly dragged
out of their huts and subjected to the
physical punishment before they were
killed by slitting their throats. The injured
persons have been identified as Kanhu
Hembrom, Motka Murmu, Arjun Gope
and Jagdish Bera. 17
Duggi Lal Mahto and Jageshwar Ram
were reportedly killed by MCC activists
on the night of 14 May 2004 at Chakchko
village under Vishnugarh police station on
Giridih-Hazaribagh border in Giridih
district. The victims were mercilessly
beaten up at a Jan Adalat, Peoples’ Court,
and eventually killed. While fingers of
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