Amnesty urges India to ban Chhattisgarh militia

Authorities in India’s Chhattisgarh state must immediately comply with a decision by the country’s Supreme Court to disband and disarm anti-Maoist state-sponsored civil militias, Amnesty International said in a press release.

Since 2005, civil militias known as Koya commandos are alleged to have committed serious human rights violations with the support of government security forces in Chattisgarh, the human rights watchdog said.

"The Supreme Court’s decision to ban the civil militias is a landmark step in protecting indigenous people – adivasi – and other local communities from ongoing human rights violations," the press release quoted Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Director for Asia and the Pacific, as saying.

The Supreme Court ordered the immediate disarming of the Koya commandos, but also called on the Indian authorities to ensure that former Koya militia members, previously known as Salwa Judum, are protected from reprisals. 

India’s Supreme Court has also ordered an investigation into the latest round of serious human rights violations committed by the security forces and the Koya commandos in March this year.

The 6,500-strong civil militia in Chhattisgarh is currently financed under a security plan by the Indian state, Amnesty said. The government recently approved a plan for recruitment of 12,000 Special Police Officers (SPOs) in five other states affected by the Maoist insurgency. SPOs receive small salaries from the government and are armed by the authorities.