New Delhi: A government school teacher was abducted and killed allegedly by Naxals on the evening of 29 August in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, just a couple days after a similar incident in the neighbouring Sukma district.
Kallu Tati, 25, had joined the government as a temporary teacher, commonly known as ‘Shiksha Doot’ in the once Naxal-dominated villages in Bastar. He was returning from a makeshift school in Lendra village, located just about 5 km from his ancestral village of Todka.
“He was abducted and strangled to death by Naxal cadres. He was the only educated individual from these villages, located deep within the forest. The body was recovered in the morning today,” a Chhattisgarh Police officer said.
The latest incident further highlights the fear and risks faced by the local population who take on jobs assigned by the administration.
So far this year, according to records maintained by Bastar Range Police, Naxals have ‘killed’ six such ‘Shiksha Doots’ in Bastar, while the number of civilians ‘killed’ in the region by Naxals has gone up to 32.
Bastar Range Inspector General of Police, Sundarraj Pattilingam, said that these youth who had volunteered to educate the children of the region were killed to delay the upliftment of the tribal society in the area. This, he told ThePrint, is because Maoists are apprehensive that an “educated and aware” society would no longer support their agenda and ideology.
“We strongly denounce the cowardly killing of a youth volunteer engaged in educating children in the region. Such heinous acts by Maoists, targeting those working for the upliftment of society, will not be tolerated under any circumstances. In the last two years, eight such dedicated volunteers have been killed by Maoists in Bijapur, Sukma, Dantewada, and Narayanpur districts. The clear motive behind these killings is to deprive the native population—particularly children—of the opportunity for education. Maoists fear that an educated and aware society would no longer support their outdated, inhumane, anti-development, and cruel ideology,” IG Sundarraj told ThePrint.
“Bastar Police assures people that every such crime will be investigated thoroughly and the perpetrators brought to justice with the strictest possible action. Police forces remain committed to ensuring the safety and security of all citizens, especially those engaged in education and development activities in the region. We reaffirm our resolve to intensify operations against Maoist violence and to safeguard the rightful aspirations of the people of Bastar.”
As part of a government initiative, the administration, backed by the police, has re-opened up several schools shut for many years in the once Naxal-dominated areas.
“Education means poor villagers will get educated. This is something that the Naxals fear,” a source in the security establishment said.
Sources added that while there is fear, there are also several teachers who are determined to teach.
In the Sukma incident, another ‘Shiksha Doot’ named Laxman Barse was dragged out of his in-laws’ house under Silger police circle, allegedly by a group of around two dozen Naxal cadres.
A resident of Bijapur, Barse had been working in a makeshift school in the Silger area for nearly a decade. The incident occurred on 27 August evening, a few kilometres from the nearest security camp. He was allegedly killed on suspicion of passing on information related to Naxals to the security camp in Silger.
This was the second tragedy for his family. His brother too was allegedly killed by Naxals on suspicion of being a police informer.
The incident took place around 7 pm, barely 3 km from a police camp, when 20-odd Naxals allegedly reached his house, dragged him out and killed him.
Earlier in July this year, Naxals had allegedly killed two other ‘Shiksha Doots’ in Bijapur in two separate incidents. They were identified as Vinod Made, 28, from Pillur village in the Farsegarh area, who taught at the Kodapadgu village school, and Suresh Metta, 29, who taught in his village school in Tekameta village.
“This strategy of killing and silencing those who take part in work initiated by the government has been their longstanding approach. This wave of attacks against them, sometimes accusing them of being police informers, is their way of taking out frustration on villagers as they have not been able to inflict damage on security forces in recent years,” another senior police officer said.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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