Panic grips M.P. village after tribals-police clash

By Lalit Shastri

DEWAS (M.P.), APRIL 7. The villagers in Bagli block of Dewas district in Madhya Pradesh are in panic after the encounter earlier this week between the police and some misguided tribals who have been encroaching upon and recklessly exploiting the wealth of the forests at the behest of some ``outside elements''.

Monday's encounter took place just outside Mehendi Khera village, about 45 kilometers from the block headquarters, when some tribals allegedly surrounded and ambushed the raiding team, led by the District Collector, Mr. Ashok Barnwal, and the Superintendent of Police, Mr. Sanjeev Shami. The raiding team had gone there to seize illegally-felled timber and to stop construction of houses on forest land encroached by the tribals. Three tribals and one non-tribal were killed.

Describing the incident, Mr. Shami said, ``it would be a misnomer to describe it as an encounter. It was a full-fledged battle''. The S.P. said the police had been forced to retaliate and open fire only after three police jawans and two Van Samiti (forest committee) members had been injured by the bullets fired by the tribals.

The raiding party was combing the area for the past few days as part of a joint operation to seize illegally-felled timber and demolish the houses that were being constructed by the tribals, who had started clearing the dense forest to claim massive chunks of land for agriculture purposes. When this correspondent toured this area, he could see patches of freshly tilled land - all meticulously fenced with brand new barbed wire and thick logs of wood.

Mr. Ashok Barnwal said they had demolished 23 houses under construction and about 250 cubic meters of timber worth over Rs. 50 lakhs had been seized from five villages. The encroachment and felling of timber had assumed enormous proportions in the periphery of 17 villages of Bagli block. It is not merely the problem of encroachment by tribals, he added. There appeared to be several ``outsiders'' systematically organising the tribals under the banner of Adivasi Manch (tribals forum) and exhorting them to defy the law of the land and use violent means to capture large forest areas. Some printed literature has also been seized by the authorities in this connection. Monday's incident was a pointer to the magnitude of the problem, he said. This was also corroborated by Ms. Meenakshi Sisodiya, the Janapad President.

Mr. Barnwal said their raiding team had tried to nab one Jhanjhat Bhargava of Jarna Sind village on March 30. Bhargava is believed to be in the forefront, along with one Rahul Banerjee, in spreading the cult of violence and exhorting the tribals to encroach upon the forest land. Bhargava managed to escape that day and the raiding team was later ambushed. Mr. Barnwal said even on Sunday the tribals had fired at a police team in Potla. When the raiding team reached Mehendi Khera on Monday it took a strategic detour but after going some distance, the members found themselves surrounded by tribals, who started throwing stones and opened fire from all sides.

Some Van Samiti members who had joined the raiding party that day told this correspondent that Mr. Barnwal had used the public address system to repeatedly warn the tribals. However when some police jawans were hit, the police first used tear-gas shells and then fired a few rounds in the air. When the situation went out of control, they were compelled to open fire. On their way back, the raiding team realised that the tribals had also laid land mines on their original route.

The police team managed to rush one of those injured in police firing to hospital but he later succumbed to injuries.

The State Government has announced a magisterial probe into the incident. The Deputy Chief Minister, Ms. Jamuna Devi, and Minister for Medical Education and Scheduled Castes Welfare and Minister in-charge of Dewas district, Ms. Vijaylakhsmi Sadho, who went to Dewas on Thursday expressed concern over the involvement of outsiders.

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