Chhattisgarh is once again witnessing an upsurge in Maoist-organised 'Jan Adalat'.
Chhattisgarh, after a period of brief lull, is once again witnessing an upsurge in Maoist-organised 'Jan Adalat' (people's court or Kangaroo court) where people suspected to be loyal to the state are punished in full public view.
Experts view the increasing trend of 'Jan Adalat' as an act of Naxals to terrorise the people, as they are frustrated with security forces making inroads in their bastion and befriending locals.
The Naxals held 13 jan adalats till July this year in different parts of the Bastar region, while the number was four last year, as per police records.
At least 25 civilians have been killed in Naxal-related incidents this year in the state and most of them were executed in a jan adalat, according to police.
"People should not be under an illusion that Naxals are entirely driven by concern for the innocent tribals and that by killing villagers at Jan Adalat they are doing a noble job," Professor Girish Kant Pandey, Head of Department of Defence Studies in Government Science College in Raipur told PTI.
The extremists, miffed at their squeezing base and losing support among locals, are frustrated and afraid of the entry of security forces in Sukma and Narayanpur districts, which were once their 'safe havens', he said.
The worst Naxal-hit Sukma district witnessed the highest six Jan Adalats, while there were three such courts each organised by the rebels in Narayanpur and Bastar districts. A jan adalat was also held in Kanker district this year, police record stated.
A senior police official described the jan adalat as nothing but a "brutal act to terrorise the villagers".