Social activist Bela Bhatia threatened, asked to leave Bastar in 24 hours

By Dilip -
Social activist Bela Bhatia was allegedly threatened by a group of men who barged into her home in Bastar on Monday morning. Around 30 men arrived at Bhatia’s home in Parpa village and gave her 24 hours to vacate the house.  They threatened to burn it down if she refused to comply. This comes days after Bhatia accompanied an National Human Rights Commission team to Bijapur to record statements of rape and assault victims. The NHRC recently released a report, accusing Bastar Police personnel of raping 16 tribal women in the area.

Bhatia reportedly called the local police for help, but they failed to restrain the men, except for when they tried to enter her house again. Similar intimidation tactics have been used in the past to apply pressure on activists fighting for tribal rights in Bastar. In 2016, lawyers representing the Jagdalpur Legal Aid group were also similarly asked to leave after a few unidentified persons had put pressure on their landlord.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/bela-bhatia-threatened-bastar-nhrc-rape-police-4487875/

see also
Human Rights Commission indicts Chhattisgarh police for sexual violence against Adivasi women
Republic of Unfreedom // Chhattisgarh top cop threatens HT journalist over Bastar reporting

This is How a Naxalite Dies // Jharkhand: Maoists’ kin, victims of violence meet, share their stories
In Bastar, Impunity for Rapists in Uniform, Non-Bailable Warrants for Adivasi Survivors 
Report of Fact Finding Team of Editors Guild of India on attacks on media in Bastar (Chhattisgarh)
BHARAT BHUSHAN - Narendra Modi's Republic of fear ...
Mohan Guruswamy - Adivasis: India’s original inhabitants have suffered the most at its hands
Chitrangada Choudhury - 50 days after security forces charged with gangrape...
CHITRANGADA CHOUDHURY - Arrested tortured, jailed in south Bastar...
Chitrangada Choudhury, Ajay Dandekar – dealing with Maoists...
Chitrangada Choudhury Aga - Illegal mining's ground zero ...
Nandini Sundar: List of incidents when Chhattisgarh police has tried to harass me, because of my human rights work and litigation in the Supreme Court.
JAVED IQBAL - The Surrealism of Surrender in Malkangiri
Javed Iqbal's photo essays on India's workers ...
Javed Iqbal: The Killing of Journalist Nemichand Jain ...
JAVED IQBAL - In Communally Sensitive Bhagalpur, a non-riot ...
KRISHN KAUSHIK AND ATUL DEV - “This kind of terror, we have not seen before”: An interview with the lawyers evicted from Bastar in Chhattisgarh
Supriya Sharma - The story the Chhattisgarh police does not want you to read
Atul Dev - The attack on Soni Sori follows her attempts at holding the police in Bastar accountable
Chitrangada Choudhury - 50 days after security forces charged with gangrape, no arrests...
What is to be Undone
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