Police firing: Narayanpatna simmers with resentment

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Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com/2009/11/22/stories/2009112250680300.htm)
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Police firing: Narayanpatna simmers with resentment


Staff Reporter

Bar association president, others condemn the incident

Two of the three roads connecting the block to the outside world blockedIncident will hamper efforts to bring peace in the area, says Collector
BERHAMPUR: Tension is expected to mount in Narayanpatna block in Koraput district following the death of two Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS) activists in police firing on Friday.
No untoward incident was reported from Narayanpatna as yet though it continued to simmer.
Out of the three roads connecting Narayanpatna to the outside world, two were blocked by felling trees. Only the Laxmipur-Naryanpatna road was open for traffic. The Bandhugaon-Narayanpatna and Damanjodi-Narayanpatna roads remained blocked.
According to sources, tribal activists of the CMAS held a meeting under the chairmanship of their leader Nachika Linga at an undisclosed spot. At this meeting, they reportedly decided to oppose entry of police personnel into areas of Narayanpatna in future.
One of the major causes of aggravation of tension was that social activists as well as CMAS were unhappy with the cause of opening fire by the police. The administration, however, claimed that they had resorted to firing when a mob of CMAS activists tried to loot arms.

Charge against police
But CMAS activists allege that the police opened fire when they were holding a peaceful demonstration in front of the Narayanpatna police station.
They even charged the police with targeting their leaders, including their president. According to sources, Maoists had also started to encash the volatile situation in the block.
As per CMAS sources, seven persons were also injured in the police firing. The injured persons were also being treated in an undisclosed location. There were also unconfirmed reports about the death of one of the injured persons. The bodies of the victims – Wadeka Singanna and Andrew Nachika – were kept at the Narayanpatna police station after autopsy to enable the family members to claim them.
Koraput Bar Association president Nihar Ranjan Patnaik, who was appointed by the government as special advocate to look after the tribal land dispute cases of Narayanpatna area, was also critical of the police firing on CMAS activists. After his visit to Narayanpatna, he said the firing itself took place in the absence of a magistrate.
“I feel the police had fired upon CMAS activists who had come out for a peaceful demonstration,” he said. He had serious doubts on the police version of the incident.
CPI-ML (New Democracy) also condemned the police firing. Its spokesperson Bhala Chandra Sarangi said circumstantial evidence hinted that it was planned firing on peaceful activists. He felt it would aggravate the situation in the area. The Orissa Forest Mazdoor Union (OFMU) also condemned the firing. “Police fired at tribals without any provocation,” said Prafulla Samantara, convener of Lokshakti Abhiyan.
Koraput district Collector Gadadhar Parida also felt that the incident would hamper efforts to bring peace in the area.


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