Rainu Oyam 

Activist 

Chattisgarh 

On April 25, 2022, shortly after midnight, Rainu Oyam was forcibly detained and arrested by the CRPF, while he was returning home from Bijapur. His arrest flouted a series of procedures laid down under the DK Basu guidelines. 

Mr. Oyum is a leading member of the Moolwasi Bachao Manch, an organisation working towards protecting the rights and entitlements of Adivasis in the Bastar region, and has organised and participated in numerous peaceful protests and demonstrations regarding militarisation and human rights violations by police and security forces in Bastar. 

The police released a press release on April 25, 2022 issued a press release alleging that the HRD was a wanted Maoist and had 11 cases against him. His family and fellow activists in the village also issued a press note offering a point-by-point rebuttal to police’s claims regarding his involvement in the incidents of violence, providing details of where he was and what he was doing during each of the alleged incidents. They also rejected the claim that he was an underground maoist. 

His forcible detention, illegal arrest and wrongful implication in multiple false cases are a reprisal for his involvement in ongoing peaceful protests seeking the protection of Adivasis’ constitutional and human rights. We asked the Hon’ble Commission to direct the Director General of Police Chhattisgarh, to initiate an independent inquiry into the reprisal against the HRD.