Resident of Silger and neighbouring villages 

Chhattisgarh

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on June 9, 2021, regarding excessive use of force by the Chhattisgarh police including firing on peaceful Adivasi protestors resulting in the death of three HRDs and injuring many. Residents of Silger and neighbouring villages have been peacefully protesting against the establishment of a security camp without the consent of their gram sabha. 

There has been a mass protest against the proliferation of security camps in the Sukuma and Bijapur districts as the establishment of camps has led to increasing in unnecessary security checks, torture assault, sexual harassment of the local population. The establishment of a security camp in their village led to apprehensions of the residents of Silger and nearby villages, who started protesting peacefully against it. The security camp was set up in the dead of the night on May 12, 2021, without informing the villagers which are mandated under PESA Act. 

When the villagers wanted to talk to the camp in charge they were not allowed to go inside and CRPF personnel lathi-charged the people leading to more than 20 HRDs getting injured. Villagers kept protesting against the camp peacefully between May 13 and May 16. On May 17, 2021, more than ten thousand villagers turned up demanding the removal of the camp.  CRPF resorted to lathi-charging and firing against the protesting villagers. Three HRDs died and three were injured due to the firing and close to 50 protesters were severely injured due to the lathi charge. Police have registered FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. 

The police action of lathi-charge and open firing on peaceful protestors is in serious violation to right to assemble peacefully guaranteed under Article 19b of the Indian Constitution. Also, Human Rights Council resolution on 15/21 reaffirms the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. It also violates the Code of Conduct for Police in India, which says police must exercise maximum restraint while dealing with mass protests.