Bastar cop

jurisdiction over all seven districts of Bastar.

The decision on Kalluri comes three days after a marathon hearing by the NHRC, which the IG was meant to attend but stayed away on health grounds. Official sources said that during the two-hour hearing, the government was pulled up by a bench headed by NHRC chairperson HL Dattu for its record on human rights and the behaviour of the district police.

Sources said the commission asked the state to look into the creationofcommitteesforbastarand at the state level on rights violations, and sought a reply within a week. “There was a clear message that the conduct of Bastar police was unacceptable,” said an officer.

Multiple sources in Raipur and Bastar confirmed that the “nail in the coffin” was in the aftermath of the intimidation of activist Bhatia. On January 23, a group of men entered her home in Bastar two days after she had assisted an NHRC team in recording the statements of alleged rape victims in Bijapur, and asked her to leave the region.

In the days that followed, there were reports of abusive messages sent by the IG to activists and lawyers who asked about the welfare of Bhatia. On January 26, in an attempt to defuse the situation, Chief Minister Raman Singh met with Bhatia in Jagdalpur, where the government assured the activist of safety and asked her to carry on with her work in the area.

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