Atrocities by CRPF and Police go up in Kandhamal

The situation in riot-worn Kandhamal continued to be tense amid reports of atrocities inflicted by CRPF personnel and police forces on local residents. The CRPF personnel sent by the Centre have gone out of control after the clashed with locals at Kurtumgarh a couple of weeks ago. They are not even sparing the women and children.

Women in Kandhamal have been allegedly teased and dragged by some CRPF personnel. They were also beaten up mercilessly. The atrocities on male tribals have gone up significantly in the past few days. While the CRPF and police forces failed to contain the violence, they beat up innocent locals to vent their anger. Even senior citizens were not spared.

Yesterday, three tribal schoolboys were badly beaten up by CRPF personnel when they were returning from school. They were later produced in the court. A group 8 women were illegally detained by the CRPF personnel for three days. They were produced in court only after a local newspaper took up their cause.

The Centre has already sent 10 companies of CRPF personnel and is dispatching seven more companies to control the violence in Kandhamal. The state government has left the complete control of Kandhamal district to CRPF in the wake of continued violence. However, the public sentiment has turned against the police and CRPF for their alleged atrocities on innocent civilians including women and children. Passion and emotion are high in Kandhamal and it could create further trouble if the state government does not take immediate action to rein in CRPF and police forces.