Threats – Journalists

A tribal journalist in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district has alleged he was threatened by the personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force and that he is being harassed for raising issues of molestation and atrocities by security forces in the Bastar region, a charge denied by the CRPF.

Lingaram Kodopi said he was returning from his village, Sameli, in the evening on Sunday on his motorcycle when he was stopped by some soldiers of the paramilitary force at a checkpoint. “I was stopped and one of them said, ‘Kanpatti pe lagaun kya (Should I hit you)’? When I asked what I have done they told me to meet a senior officer in the camp. I met the senior officer and told him that I was stopped without any reasons,” Kodopi, also a human rights activist, said over the phone.

“When I said that I will make a complaint with the NHRC (National Human Rights Commission of India) and senior officers about the matter, he started abusing me and threatened me,” he added. Kodopi said he approached Dantewada’s superintendent of police Kamalochan Kashyap and lodged a complaint against the CRPF personnel. “I have also sent a letter to the NHRC. They are trying to harass me because I have raised the molestation case by CRPF jawans in Palnar area. They are continuously tracking me and my life is in danger,” he added.