MARGAO: Activists have expressed shock at the alleged assault on Ravindra Velip, who was arrested on Monday for obstructing ore transportation in Cavrem. Velip was amongst five other locals who were arrested and lodged in Sada jail, where they were allegedly assaulted by inmates on Thursday.
The activists have recalled incidents where tribal villagers were attacked and called for the government to compensate the arrested villagers.
“In 2011, Nilesh Gaonkar was nearly killed with an iron bar while on his way to work. That was when the Congress was in power. Today, Ravindra Velip has been put in jail under the tacit will of the administration, without addressing the valid demands of the locals. This time it is the BJP. The government was asked by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to pay Rs 5,000 to each of those arrested then. No lesson was learnt,” said Judith Almeida, an activist who has been following up the issue.
It may be recalled that on April 23, 2011, a large number of Cavrem residents took to the streets to protest illegal mining and unregulated mining transportation. They blocked all roads and disrupted mining transportation, following which nearly 100 villagers were arrested. The villagers had alleged that many of them were manhandled by the police to the extent that a woman’s sari got torn and her mangalsutra was lost.
In November 2012, the NHRC directed the State to pay Rs 5,000 to each of the 125 victims of human rights violations by the police.
In a letter with the order that was sent to the Chief Secretary, the NHRC had said, “The local police, instead of sympathizing with the villagers, unleashed a reign of terror on innocent villagers.”
The police also resorted to lathi-charge on men and women, and in some cases, on children also. The human rights of the villagers/victims have thus been violated. In these circumstances, the commission feels that grant of monetary relief is justified.”
