Hyderabad: Responding to the direction of the National Human Rights Commission, the Chhattisgarh government on Friday submitted a six-point action plan to protect human rights in Bastar in the wake of allegations of police hostility against civil society representatives, including academicians and journalists, and brutality against the people under their jurisdiction.
The NHRC, that took up the case on November 16, 2016, suo motu said that it was deeply disturbed by the state of affairs in Chhattisgarh over the last one year and more.
The NHRC said that as an urgent measure, the State Government has given standing instructions to the Special DGP/Additional DGP (Naxal Operations) to immediately recommend action to the Additional DGP (CID) in a case of gross violation of human rights wherein the action is found to be slow, lacking or inadequate at lower levels.
The Director General of Police will organise training and orientation of the police force posted in Bastar Division to sensitise them on human rights issues and to ensure that human rights are not violated. All police officers are asked to ensure that human rights are not violated in the course of their work, be it in Naxal-affected areas or elsewhere. The IPS officers would also be responsible for ensuring compliance among other police personnel under their command.
The NHRC said: “There will be a clear, separate entry in the Annual Performance Assessment of All India Police Services and State Police Service Officers about their performance on human rights issues. A District level Human Rights Protection Comm-ittee headed by a District Magistrate/Collector has been constituted in each of the seven Naxal-affected districts of Bastar to receive complaints on human rights issues and to make suggestions to the State Government for taking necessary action. This committee has six district level administrative, police, law officers and two- three eminent citizens. A State Human Rights Protection Committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Secretary, General Administration Department, and will consider cases that have not been disposed of at the district level or where the complainant is not satisfied. This panel comprises seven senior administrative, police, law officers and two-three citizens/NGO representatives.
