After a brief lull, Chhattisgarh is witnessing an upsurge in Maoist-organised ‘Jan Adalat’ (people’s court or Kangaroo court) where persons suspected to be loyal to the state are murdered in full public view.
Experts view the increasing trend of ‘Jan Adalat’ as an act of Naxals to terrorise the people, as they are frustrated with security forces making inroads in their bastion and befriending locals.
The Naxals held 13 jan adalats till July this year in different parts of the Bastar region, while the number was four last year, as per police statistics.
Atleast 25 civilians have been killed in Naxal-related incidents this year in the state and most of them were executed in a jan adalat, according to police.
“People should not be under an illusion that Naxals are entirely driven by concern for the innocent tribals and that by killing villagers at Jan Adalat they are doing a noble job,” said Professor Girish Kant Pandey, Head of Department of Defence Studies in Government Science College.
The extremists, miffed at their squeezing base and losing support among locals, are frustrated and afraid of the entry of security forces in Sukma and Narayanpur districts, which were once their ‘safe havens’, he said.
They kill villagers branding them as police informers at Kangaroo court just to keep the population in awe of their power, Pandey said.
