Bastar activist ‘helped tribals navigate the system with Hindi’. Now she is held in 5 FIRs

It was a cold November day in 2015. Sukku Kunjam was working at his paddy field in Itavar village, nestled in the hills around Gangloor in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur. But hours later, he ran to the jungle, allegedly apprehending police torture, as security forces stormed the village for a search operation. The next day, he was found dead.

The death was among five alleged extrajudicial killings and one “enforced disappearance” that found a mention in a petition moved before the Chhattisgarh High Court next year – by Suneeta Pottam and Munni Pottam, two tribal girls from Korcholi village. And these two petitioners have since then turned into full-time activists, trying to sustain their struggle against alleged police excesses despite repeated threats in Maoist-hit Bastar.

 Suneeta has filed at least five complaints since that petition for her safety – before the National Human Rights Commission, district authorities, as well as the court. The threats, she alleged, have been from the police who wanted to muzzle her voice. 

The activist from Bijapur district’s Korcholi village often met lower-rung officials, senior officers, and elected representatives, over issues linked to tribal rights and alleged police brutality. But earlier this month, the police called her an absconding Maoist with 12 pending permanent arrest warrants against her.

A statement from the Chhattisgarh police said the 25-year-old was charged in five cases “in various police stations of Bijapur district” over “murder, attempt to murder, arson, robbery, provocative speech, inciting the public, and causing damage to government property”.

Notably, all the suspects arrested in these five cases have earlier been acquitted by various courts due to lack of evidence and witnesses. One of these was filed at Bijapur police station in 2020, over an alleged firing on a police party and looting of arms. The rest were filed at the Mirtur police station in 2022 – two linked to alleged threats and loot, one about the alleged stopping of construction work, and one accusing a threat to a villager for being a police informer.

The ‘illegal arrest’

On the morning of June 3, police officials in plainclothes allegedly barged into a house rented by the Women’s Collective in central Raipur to arrest Suneeta, who had been living in Raipur for two months to complete her matriculation from an open school. She had dropped out of school after it was turned into a camp years ago.

“They forcefully entered the house when Suneeta went to check the door. They tried to grab her, and she came running to my room, screaming for help….Before I could do anything, the cops locked me inside the room. They dragged Suneeta out of the house and locked me and my colleague inside…the police came back after around 20 minutes and started questioning us. I informed them that I am a teacher and Suneeta is my student,” claimed one of the two employees of the Women’s Collective who were present at the house at the time of the arrest.

A Bijapur police team led by SP Garima Dadar had allegedly entered the building saying they were Suneeta’s relatives.

“Two male cops dragged her across the floor and shoved her into an unnumbered vehicle. She was also beaten up. They didn’t give any arrest memo…I had a heated argument with the DSP over the proceedings, after which she threatened to arrest me as well,” alleged Shreya Khemani, a PUCL member in Chhattisgarh who is a part of  the Women’s Collective and had rushed to the spot. 

Chhattisgarh-based lawyer and activist Shalini Gera, who met Suneeta in jail, claimed the police didn’t even let her collect her sanitary pads and her clothes were stained. “She asked them to show the papers, charges and details related to the case but the police refused to show her anything. She asked them to wait till her lawyer arrives but they didn’t let her do so.”

Suneeta was initially taken to Bijapur Police station and then produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate. She was arrested in five cases and was sent to judicial custody inside the women prison of the Jagdalpur Central Jail. 

Gera, however, alleged that the Chhattisgarh police usually write multiple names in FIRs and since “what differentiates them is their father’s name and their village”, it often leads to the arrest of innocent people.

‘Repeated threats’

Prominent tribal leader and rights activist Soni Sori alleged that Suneeta has been under constant threat of arrest or being branded as a Maoist since she started objecting to alleged police atrocities in Bastar in 2016. 

“With her knowledge of Hindi, she has helped many villagers from her area to approach the collectorate, local police stations and courts. She has exposed the incidents of  sexual assault, physical torture in her area…but instead of getting applause for her selfless work, she has been arrested,” claimed Sori.

Suneeta allegedly started receiving threats after she, along with Munni Pottam, a tribal from the same village, filed a petition in the Chhattisgarh high court in 2016 against five alleged extrajudicial killings and one forced disappearance in Bijapur district. Shalini Gera, who was representing the two petitioners, requested security for them in September 2016. 

“The petitioners are identified in the court and we are sure that they will not be harassed by the police. We expect and hope that the police do not cause any harassment to these persons,” the court then said.

The same month, Jagdalpur Legal Aid – a group which provides free legal aid to tribals in Bastar – wrote to the National Human Rights Commission about alleged harassment and intimidation of the two petitioners at the hands of security personnel.

The letter mentioned four incidents, including an alleged police direction to Suneeta’s former teacher not to host her at her house again, and an alleged chase by former Maoists. The NHRC sought a report. The Chhattisgarh DGP then informed the panel that the Bijapur SP had assured Suneeta and Munni of safety.

However, the threats didn’t stop. 

On January 4, 2018, Suneeta met the then Bijapur collector to allege that Munni and her were threatened by the police when they went to meet the SP and ASP to discuss the alleged sexual assault of several women and children in three villages. “The officials repeatedly threatened to arrest them on false charges if they continued to demand justice and accused them of having links with the Maoists,” claimed their letter submitted to the collector.

A few days later, Suneeta and Munni addressed a press conference in Delhi and spoke about the cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and the threats to them. The next day, they visited the NHRC to submit a complaint alleging the possibility of their arrest in a fake case. The commission then directed the Chhattisgarh police to ensure Suneeta and Munni are not harassed. 

On June 22, 2018, Suneeta filed another complaint before the collector, naming a few police officials, who she alleged had threatened to kill her if she didn’t stop raising her voice for villagers. She alleged that her uncle and sister were also detained at a police camp. 

In the same complaint, she mentioned another alleged incident that took place on June 4, 2018, when the police refused to lodge a case when she went to the Gangaloor police station along with a group of villagers from Sawnar, Todka and Korcholi who were allegedly assaulted by the police.

In August 2018, Suneeta’s petition was transferred to the Supreme Court, where the matter is subjudice.

In December 2020 came the first FIR, naming one Suneeta Pottam at Gangloor police station, alleging that she had a role in an IED blast near Pusnar. The FIR didn’t mention the name of her father or her village.

Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression, a non-profit working for women rights, then wrote to the NHRC claiming that Suneeta was being targeted. 

The NHRC in response noted that it was appropriate “to bring the fear of the complainant to the knowledge of the state police authorities. Transmit the complaint to the Director General of Police, Chhattisgarh…he is expected to ensure that the person mentioned in the complaint is not unlawfully harassed by the police authorities and her human rights are not violated.”

In 2021, Suneeta along with other young tribal activists like Soni Punem, Lakhan Punem and Raghu Midayami, formed the Moolvasi Bachao Manch to talk about the alleged extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, drone attacks, cutting of trees, and illegal security camps.

This year, Suneeta alleged that a six-month-old was killed on January 1, and the police responded by saying that the baby died in a crossfire. The same month, she raised the issue of three alleged extrajudicial killings, including the death of two minor girls.

Khemani alleged, “On February 9, when Pottam went to Bijapur District Hospital to help some villagers who had met with an accident in Gangaloor, she was chased on the main road by policemen who tried to forcefully take her with them on their motorcycle. Resisting this, she ran into a shop where many journalists who knew her asked the police for relevant papers…noting her immense popularity amongst journalists and support among local people and politicians, the police left.”

The incident was brought to the notice of Bastar IGP P Sunderraj by activists like Soni Sori, Bela Bhatia, Khemani and other PUCL members. And Suneeta conducted a press conference with other members of Moolvasi Bachao Manch in Jagdalpur to talk about it.

“In the recent past, many local activists of the Moolvasi Bachao Manch have been harassed even though they may be raising relevant issues…Suneeta’s arrest is also part of that assault where they want to silence dissenting voices,” said human rights lawyer Bela Bhatia.

Newslaundry reached out to Bastar IG P Sundarraj multiple times to seek his comment. This report will be updated if a response is received.

Newslaundry also reached out to DIG Kamalochan Kashyap for his comment. This report will be updated if a response is received.

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